MAY 1 (Reuters) — The Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight has certainly grabbed the attention of sports and non-sports fans alike, turning Saturday’s (May 02) welterweight championship contest into a “must see or be seen at event.”
And while the fight has yet to fought and a decision has not yet been rendered, it’s safe to say that the city of Las Vegas and the sport of boxing has already scored a massive knockout.
“To be realistic, Mayweather and Pacquiao are 38 and 36,” says Top Rank’s Bob Arum, one of the promoters on the fight. “The lifespan in the sport is going to be short, we have to recognize that. But, in the wings there are tremendously talented young people, young fighters who are going to be marquee and who people are going to fall in love with.”
While boxing in general will benefit from this fight’s mega drawing power for future bouts, the immediate financial gain is palpable.
“As people pour into this town, many of whom are without a prayer of having a ticket, just to be here,” added Arum, a longtime veteran in the boxing promotion game. “That helps everybody in this town, it helps the cab drivers, the bartenders, the hospitality workers. It helps the economy, a real boon to the economy. Forget for a minute how much the hotel casinos are going to make, the rooms and the gambling. It is the ordinary people who will benefit greatly from this event.”
The interest generated in the fight, which takes place MGM’s Grand Garden arena has already translated in near record numbers for a boxing match.
“We are already at the point of the third biggest fight ever booked here at the MGM Grand,” explained Jay Rood, Vice-President of MGM’s sports betting book. “I would imagine that we would be surpassing the biggest fight that we have ever booked, that would be Mayweather-Canelo. I think what we are going to do to this fight is 2.5 times larger than what we have ever done with a boxing match in the state of Nevada.”
The point is that for a sport that has floundered badly over the past several years, an event like Mayweather-Pacquiao shows that boxing still sells and brings an electricity to Las Vegas that is nearly unmatched, save for the Super Bowl.
The undefeated Mayweather (47-0), who is guaranteed 120 million – that could reach 180 million – from a mega fight that is expected to be the richest of all time, oozed confidence as he predicted his record would remain perfect.
Pacquiao is a 2-1 underdog for a fight expected to earn him now up to 120 million.
