Years (yes, that’s years) of negotiations have gotten the fighters to this point — tens of millions of dollars in purses apportioned, venue selected, rules agreed, even gloves selected.
But now comes the big questions — do two storied fighters who have attracted legions of fans in their home countries and millions more worldwide really want to settle the question of who’s best?
It’s frankly hard to see what either of them stands to gain, beyond what they’ve already accomplished.
As of now, the decision appears to be up to Mayweather, since Pacquiao’s camp said Tuesday that it and promoter Top Rank had agreed to terms for the fight on May 2, according to ESPN.
“Top Rank and Manny have agreed to the terms on our side; I don’t know about the other side,” Top Rank‘s Carl Moretti said.
But Mayweather still has not agreed to the terms — even though Pacquiao has agreed to take 40 percent of the take to Mayweather’s 60 percent — and no one from his camp could be reached for comment, ESPN said.
The bout has been negotiated for the past few months by Top Rank’s chairman, Bob Arum, and CBS president Leslie Moonves, whose company has two fights left on its contract with Mayweather.
The fight is expected to be the largest grossing boxing match in history, and is scheduled for MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev., Moretti said.
Both fighters are quite familiar with the venue, ESPN said.
Mayweather’s last 10 fights have been fought at the luxury hotel’s arena and five of Pacquiao’s last seven bouts were at that same venue.
