Sometime late on Saturday night, Floyd Mayweather will walk out into the great boxing amphitheatre that is the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for his hotly-anticipated rematch with Marcos Maidana.
The fighter is perfectly familiar with these surroundings – his last nine contests have been in that famous ring – but he will still feel that frisson of excitement and adrenaline that comes with placing your unbeaten record and titles on the line.
But Mayweather will face the blinding flashbulbs, riotous noise and his Argentinian opponent safe in the knowledge that, whatever fate awaits him over the 12 rounds, his financial position and “Money” monicker are secure.
For the fight itself is simply the culmination of a thorough and well-practised 12-week process put into action by his company Mayweather Promotions every time he fancies stepping in the ring.
As explored recently by the Bleacher Report, they have a successful formula that is pretty much unique in boxing and sport, one that reduces the risk to Mayweather and his finances to the absolute minimum.
Little wonder, then, that “Money” is the highest paid athlete in the world, according to Forbes, and is currently half-way through a remarkable pay TV deal that will pocket him a jaw-dropping $250m (?154m).
His career earnings are estimated at about ?250m, with a further ?30m to come by the end of the weekend.
Saturday’s bout with Maidana, in which Mayweather will defend his WBA, WBC and The Ring welterweight and his WBC Light Middleweight titles, could be one of his last.
The 37-year-old hinted this week that he will hang up his gloves next year after a maximum of three more fights. Maidana comes first, following by two more against ‘exciting’ opponents.
The split-decision victory over Maidana back in May took his record to 46-0. If all goes to plan, he’ll retire on 49-0 and won’t be short of a pension.
His victories in the ring rely on brute strength but Mayweather has also shown brains in engineering a marketing strategy that ensures he controls every aspect of fight night.
First, he decides on the opponent alongside his trusted advisers, Leonard Ellerbe, the chief executive of Mayweather Promotions, and Al Haymon, long-standing business associate of Mayweather.
The amount paid to the opponents depends but the general range is between $1.5m (?900,000) and $4m (?2.4m). It appears a pittance compared to the vast sums Mayweather rakes in, but then he is the champ.
The profile of the opponent dictates the number of pay-per-view (PPV) sales, which cost $65 ($40) a time for standard definition and $75 (?46) for high definition on the Showtime network.
The number of sales hovers between one million for a lesser fight and two million for blockbusters like this Saturday’s.
Mayweather was smart and realised the potential of PPV early on, leading to the $250m+ tie-in with Showtime to screen his final six fights.
When in negotiations, Mayweather held all the aces – he was already a box office name and his only obligation to the network was to turn up for the fight.
It falls to Showtime to brand and market the fight in the most effective way. They shoulder the burden and the risk; Mayweather’s money is already in the bank.
Overseas PPV deals, such as the one with BoxNation in the UK, coin in another $2m (?1.2m), while news channels seeking highlights and sports networks wanting delayed coverage all pay a premium.
It will cost Mayweather’s company, in collaboration with Golden Boy Promotions, started by Oscar de la Hoya, up to $3m (?1.8m) to assemble an undercard, but that is paid for by selling sponsorship opportunities at ringside.
Then comes arranging the venue. This is pretty straightforward. The MGM Grand has its reputation as the world’s leading boxing venue to uphold – they love the prestige, glamour and the packed house.
So much so that they buy up 3,500 of the best seats and give the revenue – about $3.5m (?2.15m) – to Mayweather. After all, he could easily take his circus down the road.
Mayweather’s people then oversee the coast-to-coast publicity tours and press conferences, the ubiquitous promotion and marketing, and the popular Access all Areas TV spin-off.
He is also adept at harnessing the power of social media. Mayweather is an avid tweeter and posts regularly on Instagram.
These platforms not only give fans a tantalising glimpse into his habits and training regime but also help to perpetuate the ‘Money’ legend, cementing his ‘top-of-the-bill’ status.
Mayweather is not shy in flaunting his vast wealth. One Instagram video clip saw Jessi Lee and Doralie Medina, two members of ‘The Money Team’ (TMT), playing a game to see which could count out $100,000 the fastest while Mayweather time them with a luxury watch.
A white Bugatti Veyron, worth ?750,000, is his latest favourite runaround and sits proudly on his driveway next to an identical model in red and blue.
The fighter’s fleet of cars is colour-coded depending upon which city he happens to be in – white for Vegas, black for Miami.
His collection of expensive timepieces is something akin to an obsession. Mayweather splashed out $1m on one cut from 60 carat Russian diamonds by New York-based Rafaello and Co.
For good measure, he patented the design to ensure he earns a tidy commission on any replicas.
During a publicity tour last year, Mayweather flew around on his own private plane, a Gulfstream V, which costs about $10m (?6.15m) second hand, while his 20-strong entourage travelled on another jet.
When out of the ring, the vast majority of Mayweather’s life is played out on a whim. He usually carries about ?40,000 cash in his pocket, or troubles one of his assistants to lug around a sports bag containing as much as ?750,000.
His vast fortune means he can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants and, with another superfight on the agenda this week, he’s showing no signs of slowing down.
