Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will come face to face today for the first time since that fateful night in Pacquiao?s Miami hotel suite six weeks ago.
Both boxers agree that impromptu meeting was the turning point in finally making their long-awaited welterweight showdown a reality, the reason they?ll be able to officially announce the biggest non-heavyweight fight of this generation at a news conference this afternoon in Los Angeles.
They?ll pose for pictures and answer questions.
ESPN will televise it live from Nokia Theatre at 4:30 p.m. The “SportsCenter” telecast today will include “red carpet” coverage from outside the theater.
Then the Filipino legend and boxing?s pound-for-pound king quickly will return to their training camps to prepare for their May 2 fight in Las Vegas ? Pacquiao to trainer Freddie Roach?s gym in nearby Hollywood, and Mayweather to his own gym in Las Vegas.
They?ll make one publicity stop. That?s it.
Mayweather-Pacquiao is such an enormous mainstream spectacle, so unlike virtually every pay-per-view boxing match, they?re not even bothering to take traditional press tours to promote the fight. The boxing promotional machine rarely stops spewing hype once a fight is announced, but it isn?t necessary with Mayweather-Pacquiao.
They don?t need trash talk, public physical confrontations or any other form of manufactured drama to intensify interest in a bout between boxing?s biggest stars. This fight sells itself and everyone involved knows it.
Industry experts expect this fight to draw more than 3 million pay-per-view buys, even with a price tag that is expected to approach $100 in HD. That would shatter boxing?s record of 2.48 million buys for Mayweather?s win over Oscar De La Hoya in May 2007, a fight that cost consumers $35 less to watch.
At this point, Mayweather-Pacquiao would have to develop in the ring as Corrales-Castillo, Gatti-Ward and Barrera-Morales all rolled into one to meet these exorbitant expectations. Getting that level of epic entertainment out of a fight that includes the defensive-minded Mayweather is highly unlikely.
There?s still no denying there are millions of people who want to see Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) knock out Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) or want Mayweather to silence skeptics who claim he?s been afraid to fight Pacquiao for more than five years.
They don?t need convincing from promoters, Mayweather, Pacquiao or anyone else. Unlike virtually every pay-per-view boxing match, this fight sells itself.
Twitter: @Idecboxing
