You probably wouldn't talk about boxing without thinking of the name Mike Tyson who was famous not only for knockouts but the excessive us of drugs, alcohol and moving from riches to rags in a short space of time. In this day and light we have had many notable boxers who have made a name for themselves and earned a spot in the hearts of millions of fans across the world. Floyd Mayweather is today the richest living boxer, no wait. He is the highest earning sportsman in the whole world this year (2014). His total earnings in 2014 amounted to $105 million with absolutely no endorsements whatsoever. Mayweather is the first athlete besides Tiger Woods to earn $100 million in Forbes' annual tally of the highest-paid athletes. His September 2013 fight against Canelo Alvarez set records for highest pay-per-view gross ($150 million), live gate ($20 million) and total revenue (roughly $200 million). The Canelo fight marked the second bout in the blockbuster 30-month, six fight deal he signed with Showtime in 2013. He is the boxer everybody wants to see lose a fight. The sporting world generally has a love/hate obsession with him but he just won't lose a fight. Each fights he engages in people subscribe to a pay per view network hoping he would lose but he has won all his fights so far. He has also been linked to racially spiteful comments. He allegedly once went on an racist and homophobic rant about Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao via Ustream. Mayweather referred to Pacquiao as a midget several times and said that once he beats his rival (if the fight ever happens), he will force Pacquiao to "make some sushi rolls and cook some rice." He also said "we're going to cook him with some cats and dogs."
The possibility of Mayweather vs Pacquiao has become a reality. Manny Pacquiao is a successful boxer on his own with total earnings of $41.8 million in salary and endorsements totaling $800,000 alone in 2014. The possibility of the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight is what the world wants to truly wants to witness.
Mayweather said during a Showtime interview that he wants to fight Pacquiao next and wants the fight to be May 2, the Cinco de Mayo weekend that Mayweather has regularly fought on.
"We are ready. Let's make it happen. May 2. Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao. Let's do it," Mayweather said in the interview in San Antonio, where his promotional company was putting on a boxing card.
In the days before Pacquiao dropped Chris Algieri six times in a near-shutout decision to retain his welterweight title Nov. 22, he and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum launched a verbal offensive in an effort to kick-start the pressure on Mayweather.
Pacquiao even starred in a Foot Locker commercial mocking Mayweather's supposed reluctance to face him in what would be by far the richest fight in boxing history.
Friday night's interview included Mayweather's first extended remarks on the prospect of the fight in quite some time, and it was the first time he directly said he wanted to fight Pacquiao next and mentioned a specific date.
The fight has been demanded by the public since 2009, and the sides have had various unsuccessful negotiations, most notably in late 2009 and early 2010, when they made a deal on all aspects of the fight except for a drug-testing protocol. The deal fell apart.
"I would love to fight Manny Pacquiao. We tried to make the fight happen years ago; we had problems with random blood and urine testing," Mayweather said. "I just want to be on an even playing field. Now he's in a very, very tight situation. He's lost to [Juan Manuel] Marquez [in 2012], he's lost to [Timothy] Bradley [by controversial decision in 2012 but avenged it in April]. Pay-per-view numbers are extremely low. He's desperate. I wanted that fight a long time ago. I'm just waiting on them."
Mayweather failed to mention that Pacquiao long ago agreed to be randomly tested. He also failed to mention that while Pacquiao's pay-per-view figures have indeed been soft in recent fights, Mayweather's have also plummeted. Three of the four fights that he has had so far under his six-fight contract with CBS/Showtime failed to reach even 900,000 buys.
Pacquiao and Arum have been pressing for the fight in recent weeks, and Arum has held talks with CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves in an effort to work out a deal under which Showtime and HBO, which has Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) under contract, would produce a joint pay-per-view. The companies did that once before for the 2002 heavyweight championship fight between Lennox Lewis, who was signed to HBO, and Mike Tyson, who was with Showtime.
Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs), however, perhaps had not heard about the Arum-Moonves talks because he told Showtime, "Of course, we have to make the fight happen on Showtime pay-per-view, because 'Showtime Championship Boxing' is No. 1 and will remain No. 1. I'm the man. I'm here to stay.
"Floyd Mayweather is not ducking or dodging any opponent. Bob Arum is stopping the fight. We have been trying to make this fight happen behind the scenes for years now, but the fans and the people have been fooled because they have been listening to people just on one side. Now it's time for us to talk. We want the fight."
Asked about his chief motivation for wanting the fight, Mayweather said, "I know that he's not on my level. The fans would love to see the fight. And, of course, I want to go out with a bang."
Then Mayweather, in a rant that sounded like he was cutting a WWE promo, spoke directly to Pacquiao and Arum.
"So let's make this fight happen. Manny Pacquiao, Bob Arum, you guys have been ducking us for years," Mayweather said. "We're tired of you guys fooling the public, fooling the critics. You guys didn't want to take random blood and urine testing, so that's why it didn't happen. Then I offered you $40 million, then you didn't want to make the fight happen. You lost twice, now you coming back begging for the same money. That's not gonna happen. Let's make the fight happen for the people and the fans. Mayweather versus Pacquiao, May 2nd, Cinco de Mayweather."
The Wynn sports book in Las Vegas has posted odds on the potential fight, opening Mayweather as a -260 favorite over Pacquiao.
May 2 is already the target date for an HBO pay-per-view fight in negations between middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and former junior middleweight titleholder Canelo Alvarez for what would be the first fight of the deal Alvarez recently signed with HBO after leaving Showtime.
Mayweather is not only known for being a champion in the ring. He is also known for not being afraid of risking his earnings through sports bets. He sometimes loses up to $20 000 a bet but also wins some bets too. The world awaits to see how the man who likes to refer to himself as "Money May" will win the biggest fight of his career but one thing is for sure he will be walking all the way to the bank as a man with a smile whilst the rest of the world would keep on wishing he loses more.
You probably wouldn't talk about boxing without thinking of the name Mike Tyson who was famous not only for knockouts but the excessive us of drugs, alcohol and moving from riches to rags in a short space of time. In this day and light we have had many notable boxers who have made a name for themselves and earned a spot in the hearts of millions of fans across the world. Floyd Mayweather is today the richest living boxer, no wait. He is the highest earning sportsman in the whole world this year (2014). His total earnings in 2014 amounted to $105 million with absolutely no endorsements whatsoever. Mayweather is the first athlete besides Tiger Woods to earn $100 million in Forbes' annual tally of the highest-paid athletes. His September 2013 fight against Canelo Alvarez set records for highest pay-per-view gross ($150 million), live gate ($20 million) and total revenue (roughly $200 million). The Canelo fight marked the second bout in the blockbuster 30-month, six fight deal he signed with Showtime in 2013. He is the boxer everybody wants to see lose a fight. The sporting world generally has a love/hate obsession with him but he just won't lose a fight. Each fights he engages in people subscribe to a pay per view network hoping he would lose but he has won all his fights so far. He has also been linked to racially spiteful comments. He allegedly once went on an racist and homophobic rant about Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao via Ustream. Mayweather referred to Pacquiao as a midget several times and said that once he beats his rival (if the fight ever happens), he will force Pacquiao to "make some sushi rolls and cook some rice." He also said "we're going to cook him with some cats and dogs."
The possibility of Mayweather vs Pacquiao has become a reality. Manny Pacquiao is a successful boxer on his own with total earnings of $41.8 million in salary and endorsements totaling $800,000 alone in 2014. The possibility of the Mayweather/Pacquiao fight is what the world wants to truly wants to witness.
Mayweather said during a Showtime interview that he wants to fight Pacquiao next and wants the fight to be May 2, the Cinco de Mayo weekend that Mayweather has regularly fought on.
"We are ready. Let's make it happen. May 2. Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao. Let's do it," Mayweather said in the interview in San Antonio, where his promotional company was putting on a boxing card.
In the days before Pacquiao dropped Chris Algieri six times in a near-shutout decision to retain his welterweight title Nov. 22, he and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum launched a verbal offensive in an effort to kick-start the pressure on Mayweather.
Pacquiao even starred in a Foot Locker commercial mocking Mayweather's supposed reluctance to face him in what would be by far the richest fight in boxing history.
Friday night's interview included Mayweather's first extended remarks on the prospect of the fight in quite some time, and it was the first time he directly said he wanted to fight Pacquiao next and mentioned a specific date.
The fight has been demanded by the public since 2009, and the sides have had various unsuccessful negotiations, most notably in late 2009 and early 2010, when they made a deal on all aspects of the fight except for a drug-testing protocol. The deal fell apart.
"I would love to fight Manny Pacquiao. We tried to make the fight happen years ago; we had problems with random blood and urine testing," Mayweather said. "I just want to be on an even playing field. Now he's in a very, very tight situation. He's lost to [Juan Manuel] Marquez [in 2012], he's lost to [Timothy] Bradley [by controversial decision in 2012 but avenged it in April]. Pay-per-view numbers are extremely low. He's desperate. I wanted that fight a long time ago. I'm just waiting on them."
Mayweather failed to mention that Pacquiao long ago agreed to be randomly tested. He also failed to mention that while Pacquiao's pay-per-view figures have indeed been soft in recent fights, Mayweather's have also plummeted. Three of the four fights that he has had so far under his six-fight contract with CBS/Showtime failed to reach even 900,000 buys.
Pacquiao and Arum have been pressing for the fight in recent weeks, and Arum has held talks with CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves in an effort to work out a deal under which Showtime and HBO, which has Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) under contract, would produce a joint pay-per-view. The companies did that once before for the 2002 heavyweight championship fight between Lennox Lewis, who was signed to HBO, and Mike Tyson, who was with Showtime.
Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs), however, perhaps had not heard about the Arum-Moonves talks because he told Showtime, "Of course, we have to make the fight happen on Showtime pay-per-view, because 'Showtime Championship Boxing' is No. 1 and will remain No. 1. I'm the man. I'm here to stay.
"Floyd Mayweather is not ducking or dodging any opponent. Bob Arum is stopping the fight. We have been trying to make this fight happen behind the scenes for years now, but the fans and the people have been fooled because they have been listening to people just on one side. Now it's time for us to talk. We want the fight."
Asked about his chief motivation for wanting the fight, Mayweather said, "I know that he's not on my level. The fans would love to see the fight. And, of course, I want to go out with a bang."
Then Mayweather, in a rant that sounded like he was cutting a WWE promo, spoke directly to Pacquiao and Arum.
"So let's make this fight happen. Manny Pacquiao, Bob Arum, you guys have been ducking us for years," Mayweather said. "We're tired of you guys fooling the public, fooling the critics. You guys didn't want to take random blood and urine testing, so that's why it didn't happen. Then I offered you $40 million, then you didn't want to make the fight happen. You lost twice, now you coming back begging for the same money. That's not gonna happen. Let's make the fight happen for the people and the fans. Mayweather versus Pacquiao, May 2nd, Cinco de Mayweather."
The Wynn sports book in Las Vegas has posted odds on the potential fight, opening Mayweather as a -260 favorite over Pacquiao.
May 2 is already the target date for an HBO pay-per-view fight in negations between middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and former junior middleweight titleholder Canelo Alvarez for what would be the first fight of the deal Alvarez recently signed with HBO after leaving Showtime.
Mayweather is not only known for being a champion in the ring. He is also known for not being afraid of risking his earnings through sports bets. He sometimes loses up to $20 000 a bet but also wins some bets too. The world awaits to see how the man who likes to refer to himself as "Money May" will win the biggest fight of his career but one thing is for sure he will be walking all the way to the bank as a man with a smile whilst the rest of the world would keep on wishing he loses more.
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