Talk of the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. mega fight 1 surfaced with serious implications in 2009 following the former?s stoppage of Miguel Cotto to win the WBO welterweight belt on November 14 that year.
Some, though, would suggest even earlier. As early as after the soon-to-be Filipino eight-division-champion fought and technically knocked out Oscar De La Hoya on December 6, 2008 in his first outing as a welterweight.
After the Cotto bout, promoters even discussed possible venues such as Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, the Superdome in New Orleans and the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
Negotiations went back and forth. Drug testing, which Pacquiao wouldn?t agree, turned the main problem. The fight was on ? was off ? then on again ? off again.
It was in December of 2014 when serious negotiations actually kickstarted by an unlikely source ? a Hollywood waiter and part-time actor, Gabriel Salvador, who introduced then Pacquiao?s head trainer Freddie Roach and CBS President Les Moonves, who both worked to facilitate the match.
By 2015, negotiations for the fight had been finalized, with all of the major issues that prevented the fight from happening in the past resolved, including purse split, drug testing, and venue.
In the afternoon of March 11th at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles, Mayweather and Pacquiao, the two best fighters in the world and the sweet science?s biggest stars, stood face-to-face.
Just the two of them on the stage to finally announce the big fight ? one of the biggest ever, if not then biggest ? in media conference. The long-awaited moment was played out that day following red-carpet arrivals that paled a Hollywood awards show than a boxing press conference.
The fighters were introduced to more than 700 credentialed media men and women ? a gigantic number for a boxing news conference.
A few days later on May 2, 2015, Pacquiao, who then owned a 57-5-2 win-loss-draw record with 38 KOs, and Mayweather, who had an immaculate 47-0 with 26 KOs, would have to square off to unify their welterweight world titles, determine pound-for-pound supremacy and crown the king of their era.
As expected, the Pacquiao-Mayweather 1 turned out to be one of the the most lucrative in the history of professional boxing with an initial estimate of 4.4 million purchases.
The PPV alone broke revenue records in the US with $410 million in revenue, making it the highest-grossing PPV in history. By September 2015, the figure had been amended to 4.6 million.
Outside of the box-ofice records set, critics felt that the bout itself was disappointing, primarily citing Mayweather?s defense-oriented running strategy that made it difficult for Pacquiao?s to land punches on him.
It was later revealed following the showdown that Pacquiao had sustained an undisclosed injury to his right shoulder while training, and that while it had healed in time for the fight, he re-injured it during the 4th round.
Why am I reviving the events that led to that encounter? The now Philippine senator, only a fortnight ago, proved his detractors wrong by showing at age 40, he still got what it takes to beat and win fighters much younger than he is, in a victory that triggered debate on the possibility of a Pacquiao-Mayweather rematch.
Like the super fight 1, many expressed belief that they shouldn?t fight again. And still many believe they should, including the man who provided the missing link that made the Pacquiao-Mayweather 1 materialize ? Freddie Roach.
It can be noted that Roach, the now Pacquiao?s training consultant, has been in the news almost daily since the debate stated, defending and justifying why the American undefeated Money Man and the Filipino great must again face each other to once and for all resolve the question on who really is the best between them.
Has Roach, again, discovered another Gabriel Salvador, who can facilitate the fruition of the popular clamor that the two arch-rivals erase each other anew?
By his behavior, it looks like he has. And By Mayweather?s own body English, it seems he approves of facing Pacquiao once more. Watch out for further developments.
