LOS ANGELES — Manny Pacquiao moves a nation.
The Filipino media mobilize whenever the darling of the country does just about anything, from fighting to running for national office. Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, pointed out that no American athlete could stir a country’s emotions in such a universally positive fashion, which is true.
But this, well, this is different.
Pacquiao said he could not even begin training camp for a Floyd Mayweather fight in the Philippines because the atmosphere would be “too crazy.”
He also disclosed that he is taking some advantage of it, documenting his countrymen’s reaction in what may prove an interesting short film.
“All of the Filipino people are going to watch this fight,” Pacquiao said. “I’m paying people to take video in the whole country and interview people and take video in the streets, what the people’s reaction is, and what they’re doing in the day of the fight.”
Wednesday marked the only pre-fight-week press conference for the May 2 Mayweather-Pacquiao welterweight unification.
There was a red carpet where more than 600 media members conducted cattle-call interviews after 60 other select journalists were invited into a somewhat more intimate setting for more in-depth interviews.
Manny Pacquiao: Even non-boxing fans excited for Mayweather fight Manny Pacquiao expects quite a reaction from people in the Philippines. In truth, there won’t be much intimate about Mayweather-Pacquiao, save for the sheer size of the crowds in Las Vegas for the most anticipated fight in more than four decades.
The 700 accredited media for a press conference at Nokia Theatre here was first substantive evidence of how big the event could be.
Tickets will range from $1,500 to $7,500, and if you don’t know someone, you’re probably not going to be able to buy them. Pay-per-view price was not announced at the press conference but is expected to run about $90 for standard viewing before high-definition tack-ons.
With the over-under betting line on how many U.S. viewers will buy the fight set at 3.15 million — yes, you can wager on it — that projects to domestic television revenues alone of $315 million.
With foreign television, live gate and merchandising, it is conceivable that Pacquiao could gross $100 million from this fight, even though he is on the short end of a 60-40 financial split.
When Mayweather and Pacquiao got together for their now-famous basketball diplomacy after a Jan. 27 Milwaukee Bucks at Miami Heat game, the Grand Rapids native started throwing out numbers. Pacquiao, of General Santos City, Philippines, was intrigued.
And largely quiet.
“We went to my hotel,” after the game, Pacquiao said. “We talked about the fight. Of course, I didn’t say a lot of words, because I didn’t want to say a big mistake. And he said, ‘You’ve got to understand there’s an A-side and a B-side. I’m the B-side and the purse would be 40-60.
“That’s enough to put me in the B-side.”
When Mayweather-Pacquiao talks first started in 2009, the initial target date, later scrapped for an alternate date, was March 13, 2010 — five years ago Wednesday.
Those five years seem to have done nothing to diminish the fight between Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) and Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs).
Floyd Mayweather: Manny Pacquiao just the latest top opponent Floyd Mayweather said he wasn’t stressed about making the megafight with Manny Pacquiao: “If it was going to happen, it was going to happen.” Pacquiao said the long wait actually benefited marketing.
“I think so, because more people now know the fight,” he said. “Even the people who don’t pay attention to boxing, they know this fight.”
One other thing clarified over those last five years is that Pacquiao isn’t prone to trash-talking opponents, but his trainer Freddie Roach is perfectly willing to engage when necessary — and against Mayweather and his father-trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., it will be.
Roach said he developed a game plan for the fight more than five years ago and has tweaked it some since.
“I actually think Floyd had a better chance of beating Manny five years ago than he does now because his legs are a little bit shot and he’s slowed down a little bit and I think we can take advantage of that,” Roach said. “He says he plans to exchange with fighters more to make the fights more friendly and so forth. I think that’s (expletive) because he doesn’t care about the fans at all. He has to exchange more now because his legs won’t take him out of the way.”
Pacquiao comes into the fight as about a 2-to-1 underdog, which he said he likes.
“I think it’s been a while since I’ve been an underdog,” he said. “So I think it gives me more motivation and determination for my performance in the fight.”
Regardless who wins, both fighters would have been tainted if they never met.
Mayweather needed the fight for his boxing legacy.
So does Pacquiao, but beyond that, he has to answer to a nation. The Philippines is united behind him, and would have regarded Mayweather as the ducker if the fight never materialized. But there would have been a lingering bit of historical doubt that no legitimate prizefighter could leave unresolved.
And so, on May 2, they will become etched in time together alongside the great rivalries in sports history.
Mayweather and Pacquiao is on.
“This fight is very important in boxing history,” Pacquiao said. “We want to leave no question mark in the minds of the fans of boxing. And also, this fight is important for the fans of boxing, because they’re really eager to see this fight. It’s been five years of the fans asking the same question, ‘When is this fight coming?’ It’s finally happening, so I’m happy. It’s very important, also, this fight, for the honor of my country.”
