Mayweather vs Pacquiao
It is the most anticipated fight for a generation and the waiting is almost over.
Boxing fans are now less than 24 hours away from the biggest fight
that could possibly be made in boxing, the one that is sure to be the
single most important fight of a generation.
After years of failed negotiations, the pair would finally face off
in the twilight of their glittering careers under the lights of the MGM
Grand in Las Vegas.
It is the richest fight in boxing history, and seemed sure to live up to its billing
Undefeated welterweight Floyd Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) takes on
perennial pound-for-pound superstar Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) in a
title-unification bout for the ages.
“It’s all about timing and I think we couldn’t choose a better time,”
Mayweather told the Associated Press. “This is a fight the world can’t
miss. This is an unbelievable matchup.”
The winner of the bout will net Mayweather’s Ring Magazine, WBC and
WBA welterweight titles and Pacquiao’s WBO strap as well as the top
prize of them all, at least historically speaking: the Transnational
Rankings welterweight championship, denoting the true and lineal
welterweight king.
Pacquiao also has the opportunity to claim his fifth lineal title in
as many weight classes, something never before done in boxing history
Mayweather’s record is quite simply impeccable, and if he makes it
48-0 this weekend, he could probably do worse than take his dad’s advice
and hang up his gloves an immortal.
Pacquiao has tasted defeat on five occasions in his 64-fight career
and the Filipino has finished 38 of his 57 professional victories
inside the scheduled distance, in comparison to Mayweather’s 26
knockouts in 47 successes.
However, Pacquiao hasn’t stopped an opponent since November 2009,
when he put Miguel Cotto on the canvas in the 12th round fully 10 fights
ago.
THE FORM
Consecutive defeats threatened to derail Pacquiao’s career between
December 2008 and June 2009, but he has since bounced back with three
decision victories, including avenging the defeat to Timothy Bradley.
Mayweather has of course continued his unbeaten record in recent
years, but you have to go back September 2009 to find his most recent
knockout, against Victor Ortiz.
There have been only two knockouts in the last 12 fights involving
the two adversaries, suggesting that we could be in for a marathon
evening tonight (Early morning in Nigeria).
MUTUAL OPPONENTS
This is perhaps the most significant indicator of which way the
fight may go, and these statistics lend weight to the argument that
Pacquiao could end Mayweather’s perfect record.
The pair have five mutual opponents, namely Oscar De La Hoya, Ricky
Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto.
Hatton is the only fighter that has been stopped by both Floyd and
Manny, although the Filipino’s stoppage was much more emphatic,
knocking the Brit out in the second round.
Pacquiao’s KO against Miguel Cotto, and De La Hoya’s eighth round
retirement, means he has managed to stop two opponents that Mayweather
failed to beat inside the scheduled distance.
Pacquiao has fought eight times against these opponents, due to his
four battles with Marquez, of which he won two by decision, drew one,
and lost one by knockout.
In this selection of fights, Mayweather’s connect rate (average
percentage of punches landed) is 41 per cent, compared to Pacquiao’s
33%.
HOME ADVANTAGE
Las Vegas is Floyd Mayweather’s hometown, and these numbers show he
feels very much at home in the ring when it comes to fighting in the
gambling capital of the world.
The pound-for-pound king now fights exclusively in Vegas, with his
last 12 bouts all taking place there, and his last 10 at the MGM Grand.
He has fought 23 times in the city altogether, just under half of all his professional bouts, and his record speaks for itself…
In the MGM Grand, he has only managed three knockouts in his 13 bouts, but is still yet to taste defeat.
Pacquiao’s record in Vegas is less impressive, with three of his five career defeats coming at the fight capital.
PACQUIAO’S EARNINGS
His opponent in the ring Saturday night is nicknamed “Money” and has
created an entire persona around making and spending money. Manny
Pacquiao does not flash his cash quite like Floyd Mayweather, but the
Filipino congressman and pugilist has earned more during his Hall of
Fame career than all but a handful of active athletes. The bout against
against Mayweather will be the biggest payday of Pacquiao’s two-decade
career in the ring and push his total earnings from boxing and
endorsements past $400 million.
Pacquiao’s career earnings will reach an estimated $425 million,
assuming he rakes in $80 million from the fight on top of $5 million
from endorsements over the past year.
He joins a short list of active athletes who banked at least $425
million during their careers. The select group includes Tiger Woods,
Phil Mickelson, Roger Federer, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant and
Mayweather.
All but Mayweather and Pacquiao earned the bulk of their fortunes
from endorsements. Woods is the lone billion-dollar earner, and his
career PGA prize money of $110 million makes up less than 10% of his
career haul.
Past Pacquiao partners included Hewlett-Packard HPQ -0.15%, Sony ,
Hennessy, Monster Energy and San Miguel Beer. His marketing team, led
by Top Rank’s Lucia McKelvey, has done deals with Nike, Wonder
Pistachios, Nestle ’s Butterfinger and Foot Locker FL +0.5% over the
past year. Pacquiao has earned more than $30 million from endorsements
during his long career, but the vast majority of his fortune has been
earned in the ring.
Pacquiao’s star power and earnings exploded after his bout with
Oscar De La Hoya in December 2008. Pacquiao received a guarantee of $11
million (Accordimg to Forbes)
0 Comments