It’s here. On Saturday night a crowd of 16,800 people will stand and holler when Michael Buffer and Jimmy Lennon have performed their lines and emptied from the ring at the MGM in Las Vegas.
What a fight it will be and who cares if it would have been a better fight in 2010? And who cares that a peak Oscar De La Hoya would have beaten both of them? And who cares if the last two months have seemed to be about cashing in? Nobody cares, and that is because it is on and Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will fight.
At stake is a fortune and a secure legacy for both men. The loser exits with a mark against his record but his reputation intact and that is something that has been overlooked in the endless weeks of speculation about tickets, with some being offered for as much as $350,000 (?229,000) each, the colour of Mayweather’s socks, the final prayer selected by Pacquiao and the mild anger of Freddie Roach and his counterpart in the opposite corner, Floyd Mayweather Sr.
The city has been dazzled by the money that will be paid to the boxers, gambled by the faithful and banked by the shrewd during 100 hours that will put Las Vegas on the map once again and focus the world’s attention on the neon landscape that illuminates the desert. This fight is going to do supersonic business and that will be a joy to witness.
I think that I have been to Las Vegas 53 times, mostly for fights but I have also flown in for hearings and candle-lit vigils at Sonny Liston’s grave during the last 25 years. I have watched it change, watched in amazement as old edifices have been razed in stunts and looked in shock at vast buildings that had flown up between visits.
There was once a sandy beach at the MGM’s pool; nd six months later there was a 10-story luxury mansion block for the highest rollers in its place, the pool relocated to the back of the property. It is a mad place, the only place fit to host Saturday’s carnival.
Mayweather calls the city home, has his house there, his permanent gym and his favourite jewellers. He drives one of his many cars to the venue when he fights and he has fought his last 10 bouts – Pacquiao has fought eight of his last 12 fights – at the MGM. It has been the chosen square for some of the best and most memorable fights for nearly 25 years and Saturday will secure the venue iconic status, a modern Madison Square Garden, as the sport’s number one venue.
On Saturday the bell will toll for two men with so much to prove and, in my opinion, nothing to lose. Sure, Mayweather would have a blemish on his unbeaten record and Pacquiao would have his sixth professional defeat, but this fight is bigger than a tiny statistic. The pair are fighting at last and in real fights – fights demanded by the public – there are no losers.
Mayweather has the skills to not get hit too hard or too often and Pacquiao has the speed and accuracy to ruin his plans. It might be late, but it will still be an event. Enjoy it.
