In what will be the most-watched boxing match in history, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd “Money” Mayweather will go head-to-head in the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas on May 2. After years of waiting and frustration among fans, the public will finally get to see a match between the two most prominent boxers of this generation.
Just in case you were curious about some background information about these fighters, here are a few facts about what is being called “the fight of the century”.
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1. The estimated $300-400 million purse will be split 60-40.
Mayweather is estimated to earn $180 million while Pacquiao will bring home $120 million.
2. 300 million watching on PPV.
The record for the most watched fight ever was in 2007 when 2.5 million PPV purchases were made for Mayweather-Oscar de la Hoya. This fight is expected to be purchased by 300-400 million households.
3. Less than 1,000 tickets were made available to the public.
The rest of the 15,500 seats of the MGM Grand will go to sponsors, promoters, and other fighters. The tickets on sale ranged from $1,500 to $7,500.
4. The tickets sold out within seconds.
Within a minute, all tickets were sold out on the MGM Grand’s website and Ticketmaster. But a few minutes later, tickets appeared on sites like Stubhub where the lowest price was $5,270. Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, was offered $100,000 for his ringside seat, he laughed and said “make it 200,000 before I even consider doing that.”
5. One free ticket
Bob Arum promised one free ticket to one lucky person and that lucky person is UFC fighter Ronda Rousey.
6. Age
On the day of the fight, Mayweather will be 38 and Pacquiao wil be 36.
7. Wealth
Mayweather has topped Forbe’s highest-paid athletes list twice in the last three years. Pacquiao made the list at the 11th spot. According to CelebrityNetWorth, Mayweather has an estimated net worth of $300,000 while Pacquiao has an estimated net worth of $110,000.
8. Record
Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) has won titles in 5 weight divisions. Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) has won titles in 8 weight divisions.
9. The last time Mayweather lost a fight was in 1996.
In the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, Mayweather got the bronze medal after being defeated by Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria.
10. Mayweather has only KO’d one fighter over the last eight years.
That was in 2011 against Victor Ortiz.
11. Pacquiao’s last KO was against Cotto in 2009.
12. Pacquiao is an elected congressman in the Philippines.
He is among the most famous and influential people in the Philippines. When he fights, the whole nation of the Philippines grinds to a halt.
13. When Pacquiao fights, the Philippines becomes the most peaceful nation in the world for a few hours.
The crime rate drops to virtually zero as people glue themselves to a television. At the same time, there’s an unofficial truce in the Southern Philippines as the armed separatists lay down their weapons to watch the fight.
14. Both fighters grew up poor.
They may be among the wealthiest athletes today, but both Mayweather and Pacquiao had very humble beginnings. With his father in jail, Mayweather was shuffled between his Grandmother’s home to his Mother’s, where sometimes they didn’t have electricity. Pacquiao grew up in the Southern Philippines in a family with six children. His parents were vegetable farmers and there was often not enough food for the family. So as a young boy, he had to sell food on the streets to make a little money to get by.
