Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao 2015: Boxers Agree To Match Worth $250M, Could Announce Fight At All-Star Game, Report Says
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao agreed Saturday to stage a long-awaited boxing match worth an estimated $250 million, according to a Sunday Telegraph report. If confirmed, the fight is expected to be the richest in boxing history.
Pacquiao agreed to the deal’s terms and has already signed a contract, a source close to the 36 year old told the newspaper. Mayweather, who is currently in New York, has agreed to the deal, but has yet to sign the agreement the source said, adding that Mayweather could sign the deal on Sunday and announce the fight at the NBA All-Star Game at New York City’s Madison Square Garden.
“Manny has 100 percent signed his side of the deal,” the Pacquiao source told the paper. “It is now over to Mayweather to close the deal and announce the fight.”
A potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight would be held May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, according to the Sporting News. The two camps were engaged in negotiations for years, with each side accusing the other of holding up the match. Concerns over pre-fight drug-testing and how the record-setting pot would be split derailed negotiations on numerous occasions since 2009.
But talks intensified in 2015, particularly after Mayweather and Pacquiao met for the first time at halftime of a Jan. 27 game between the NBA’s Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks. Hours later, the two men met for more than an hour to discuss the potential bout’s terms face-to-face.
"It was a business meeting, but it wasn't a tense business meeting. I think that's because they both have mutual respect for each other. We'll determine what will happen over the next couple of days,” Pacquiao representative Michael Koncz said at the time, according to ESPN.
Mayweather will reportedly receive a 60-40 split of the fight purse, according to ESPN. The two sides have also agreed on pre-and-post-fight drug tests, as well as the type of gloves that will be used in the match.
Mayweather has two fights remaining on a six-fight pay-per-view contract with Showtime, while Pacquiao is under contract with HBO/Time Warner. Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum told the Associated Press earlier this month the two sides had already reached an agreement to simulcast the bout, a claim that Showtime executive vice president Stephen Espinoza denied Feb. 6.
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