Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: A Battle For The Aged
LAS VEGAS (CBS SF) -- It's a battle for the aged! Oops, I mean ages.
Mayweather vs Pacquiao. And you thought George Foreman was old. Mayweather is 38, Pacquiao is 36. Fans were clamoring for this fight when Abraham Lincoln was President. And wasn't that the last time anybody truly cared about boxing?
This fight, albeit 10 years behind it's prime, returns boxing to the big stage one more time. It turns back the clock on Vegas to the days of Ali, Frazier, Norton, Sugar Ray, Hagler and Hearns. There was a time when nothing was bigger than a heavyweight fight in Las Vegas. Yes, bigger than Elvis. But like Elvis, boxing left the building.
In 1985 I covered Larry Holmes' knockout of David Bey in which Holmes ran his record to 48-0. The event was unlike anything I've ever covered. It wasn't just a boxing match, it was a spectacle. Boxing was king and everybody who was anybody was there. And that was for David frickin' Bey.
This Saturday at the MGM Grand, boxing will own sports. Boxing will be back. And it's because of two legendary fighters that finally fought past the ubiquitous promoters, the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and all the red tape that ruined the sport in the first place.
But one thing is true today that was true when Don King and Bob Arum traded venom in the snake pit. Money is king. And Money is the reason they will fight.
It was May of 2007 when Floyd Mayweather fought Oscar De La Hoya in the biggest-selling pay-per-fight in boxing history. That's when Mayweather earned the "Money" moniker. What is he now, "Mo Money Mayweather?"
Pacquiao and Mayweather are expected to split $300 million. Pay-per-view will bring in at least $270 million and could go much higher. Ticket sales will generate $72 million. Thrown in merchandise, a few bars televising the fight and some overseas broadcast and you have the biggest money fight ever.
I've read several qualified boxing experts analysis of the fight including De La Hoya and Sugar Ray Leonard. The general consensus is that Mayweather will win the fight. De La Hoya has fought and lost to both fighters, so I put my 401k on his advice, and he says the smart money in Mayweather.
There might be 74 years between these guys, but tickets on StubHub are going for $4,500 each. If you feel like mortgaging your house, a pair of ringside seats was on sale for $361,000. No, really.
But hey, if you can't get a ticket to the fight, I hear there are still tickets left for an upcoming Pacquiao concert.
See you on TV.