Pacquiao-Mayweather Fight is Finally Set: SEALED, DELIVERED

{The sports story below is written by TMZ staff of TMZ.com.}

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is making it official what we already knew was coming for weeks -- TMZ Sports has learned his fight with Manny Pacquiao is set, the deal is signed -- and they'll be getting it on in Vegas on May 2nd.

To see the image of the contract being signed by Floyd, click here.

As we previously reported, the two fighters reached an agreement to get in the ring back in January -- and the major issues, including date and location have been set for weeks.

The fight is expected to be the richest contest in boxing history -- with both pugilists projected to take in well over 100 million dollars.

Good work if you can get it folks.

USAToday reports:

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will finally give boxing the mega-fight fans and observers have craved for years after it was announced on Friday that the pair will face off for unified welterweight championship on May 2 at Las Vegas's MGM Grand Garden Arena.

As part of the agreement for what will be the most lucrative showdown in fight history, Mayweather made the announcement via his account on the social media web site Shots.com, bringing to an end years of frustration and conjecture that seemed destined to keep the sport's two highest-profile athletes apart.

Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather: 'It's a Fight that I've Wanted to See Forever,' says Luke Rockhold

Th following story i written by Ashim Sunam of International Business Times.

The whole world has been talking about the Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao fight and the mega dollars that is expected to be involved in it. In case the match takes place, it is set to break all box office records in boxing history as well.

The hype created for the fight of the century appears legitimate as both the boxers have established themselves as greats of the modern era, but have failed to come face to face inside the same ring.

Read more of this article here.

What's Stopping Floyd Mayweather from Fighting Manny Pacquiao? Can someone give Floyd a pen?

It is now Februrary 17, 2015 (Philippine Time) and the boxing world still keeps waiting and hanging for this mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. Whether or not the fight will push through.

If certain things have done in a manner in which boxing fans don't keep them in a state of ambivalence, it would have been a peace of mind for the fans. Only Yes or No. The hope for boxing fans to see the fight will come to a halt.

So we are being held hostage.

These past recent days (before Valentine's Day), Manny Pacquiao said he is very positive the fight will happen, even has started training in their camp. He said that Mayweather had agreed with the contract. Manny further said that Floyd Mayweather Jr. will make the announcement in the coming days that the deal is done, that the fight will finally take place on May 2.

On February 14 (American Time), Valentines Day, at an NBA game, being interviewed by an ESPN reporter, said no, that he hasn't signed yet.

Two days had already passed, still no announcement was made that Floyd has signed the contract.

So what's stopping him? Whats's stopping Floyd from signing the paper if the two camps have already agreed on the terms, the money and all?

Here's what Washington Post has to say:

The fight that everyone wants to see might, just might, be finalized as early as this weekend, but there’s still a big “if” involving one of the parties.

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have agreed to terms for what would be a megafight between welterweight champions in early May, as the Examiner reported last month, but the tricky part hasn’t changed: getting Mayweather to sign.

Bill Dwyre of LOS ANGELES TIMES reports:

Once upon a time, not long ago, there were two boxers named Manny and Floyd. Their fairy tale story is much like that of The Three Little Pigs, because it features lots of huffing and puffing.

To date, we still have no idea if any houses will get blown down. Actually, we still have no idea about anything.

This is supposed to be the week that the big announcement will be made. It will say that the boxing world will finally get the big one, the mega-show, the event that will rock the world. Ta-da. Mayweather-Pacquiao.

Of course, it was supposed to be announced last week. Also, the week before.

So we wait, held hostage by, from all reports, Floyd Mayweather Jr., whose whims are as legendary as his ability to duck punches. (Notice we didn't say throw them). Manny Pacquiao, we are told, has signed off on all the details, has even agreed to take the short end of a roughly 60-40 purse cut. That sounds reasonable because, if you know Pacquiao, that's what he is. Reasonable. Sometimes to the point of being a soft touch.

So what Now? Should we stop from hoping?

I think we should not. HOPE springs eternal, after all.

{article source 1, source2}

Watch Manny (2014) the Movie Narrated by Liam Neeson

Here's the movie every Manny Pacquiao fan has been longing for.

This is a full movie.

Just double click the video player to view it on full screen.

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Pacquiao and Mayweather starting training, getting ready for the fight in May

A YouTube video posted by ESNEWS yesterday showing Manny PAcquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr., having a real serious preparation in their respective training camps.



Seems to be these two will definitely have a fight come May 2, but no announcements have been made yet as whether or not these two will clash in the ring on the said date, although boxing reporters are very positive that the fight will happen, based on Manny's positive vibes and the recent agreement between these two fighters.

So, we here at Pacquiao-Mayweather-Streaming Blog are 80% sure that the fight will take place on May 2, 2015.

Pacquiao says fight with Mayweather is a done deal; others say announcement this weekend is imminent

{The article below is written by Sizzle JKD of BoxingNews24}

It’s Friday the 13th and there’s an unexplainably spooky and scary feeling among those who don’t want to see Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight Manny Pacquiao (and vice versa) that the fight of the century is on.

Although the mega fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather wasn’t announced on Super Bowl Sunday as everyone had hoped, the announcement of boxing’s own super bowl was never in question. It’s going to happen. And the flying fists of Pacquiao will meet the high-guard defense of Mayweather on May 2nd in Las Vegas.



On January 29, I wrote that last minute complications during the negotiations would be the only thing that can delay the announcement during Super Bowl weekend, and as it turned out there were indeed unforeseen impediments that resulted in the talks hitting a minor snag.





Whether the barriers were a direct result of HBO and Showtime disagreeing about a couple of issues or merely Mayweather’s obstinate inclination to religiously seek unending attention so he could be the sole entity to announce the fight whenever he sought fit, at the end of the day the announcement was always imminent. Not once did I ever think otherwise.

I stayed the course, relied on what the network disclosed, and never doubted the intentions of television executives, the promoters, and most importantly, both fighters.

There will be no more confusion, no more second-guessing, and no more Mayweather-Cotto 2 predictions or those ridiculous Pacquiao-Vargas rumors that so many uninformed scribes and commenters so willfully claimed was going to happen.

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is on, and nothing can be more revealing to this truth than the fact both fighters have already begun training for the bout.

Pacquiao usually commences training about eight weeks before his fights but why has he already begun his workouts yet we are still more than ten weeks from May 2nd? Because Manny knows he’s in for the fight of his life and his focus this time around is having the best and most spirited training camp he’s ever had.

Rumors also surfaced out of Las Vegas that Mayweather began light training after his return from his Caribbean vacation. He is currently in New York City hosting a party tonight and tomorrow to celebrate NBA All-Star Weekend. Mayweather will be in attendance at the All-Star game as well.

When asked by GMA-7, a television station in the Philippines, about the impending announcement, Pacquiao said, “Oo, positive na (Yes, it is a positive),” while nodding his head as if to say it’s a done deal.

“Pirma na lang ni Mayweather (Just Floyd’s signature is needed),” added Pacquiao while hinting the contract is all but done and that Mayweather simply has to put pen to paper and finalize the deal.
A recent Instagram post by Pacquiao futher hinted, “More than anything that is very important is when you serve the Lord and spend time with family before the serious training for the upcoming fight. Fight who?????? Hehehe, I’m excited for this!”

Of course, there is a gag order that was placed by Mayweather prohibiting both sides to tell “the truth” therefore Pacquiao can’t fully reveal what’s about to happen. Pacquiao, however, can certainly provide clues through social media.

The signs, thought subtle, have spoken volumes since the negotiations began. Only the trained and watchful eye is able to decode the puzzle.

First, it was Mayweather’s numerous appearances at Staples Center in Los Angeles during the months of December and January, suggesting that he was in town to meet with manager Al Haymon, who has offices in Los Angeles and was frequenting the L.A. area in between meetings with Spike TV to announce his deal to air his new show “Premier Boxing Champions,” which debuts in March. A key indicator that Haymon wanted to keep everything on the hush was the fact that no boxing media was invited to the press conference to announce his new show at Spike TV’s Santa Monica headquarters.

Second, it was Pacquiao’s untimely worldwide tour that garnered all kinds of attention as Manny flew to Los Angeles to meet with his team at Top Rank, promote his docu-film to the masses in L.A and New York, then took trips to Miami to judge the Miss Universe Pageant, London to dine with Prince Harry, and the nation’s capital to attend a prayer breakfast with President Obama and other political leaders.

Then there was the not-so-impromptu meeting with Mayweather at the Miami Heat game that created a media and fan frenzy like no other while further bolstering everyone’s confidence that the fight was moments away from being finalized. It’s important to note that Manny and Jinkee’s courtside seat are typically reserved for Mayweather and his friends. How did Manny somehow secure courtside seats that Mayweather’s team normally uses? Think about it. Was the Floyd-Manny meeting in Miami a coincidence, as both teams said it was? No freakin’ way. Everything was planned.

The only thing that was derailed was Floyd’s promotional tour in Australia because Floyd wasn’t allowed to enter the country due to his being a convicted felon. When Floyd’s visa was denied, he instead decided to go on vacation to the Caribbean islands further distancing himself from the negotiations because he already knew the fight was a done deal waiting to happen.

In fact, it is this writer’s opinion that the fight became a done deal the night in Pacquiao’s Miami hotel room when both fighters reportedly discussed the last two remaining issues regarding HBO and Showtime. Both fighters then left with the understanding that it would be Floyd who would announce the fight at his discretion, and would announce it whenever he pleased. Simply put, it was Floyd being Floyd.

Over the last week, very little has been said about the Showtime-HBO negotiations. Maybe it’s because the last couple of issues that were thought to have been delaying the announcement had already been resolved a long time ago in spite of what the media and the networks have told you.

If this was the case, and if Mayweather wanted the least amount of transparency as possible when it came to the talks, it’s clear why it makes sense for both sides to make it seem as if they keep going back and forth so as to keep the public guessing and in essence, continue GENERATING THE HYPE. This was always the key.

Anyone who knows Mayweather’s tendencies and antics knows that Mayweather has always been the type to keep you in limbo. He will play games with your head and then suddenly announce the fight in the 12th hour, when nobody expects it. He did it with the Marcos Maidana fight when his fans choose Amir Khan, then he suddenly turned on his promise and fought Maidana instead. He did it with Robert Guerrero in 2013, when he waited until the last minute to announce that Guerrero was his opponent and shocked the boxing world by revealing his switch from HBO to Showtime.

In addition, Mayweather’s opponents are always wondering who he’s going to fight next and while his opponents are anxiously waiting, Floyd is already in the gym training and gaining a competitive edge.

But in this case, both fighters are so legendary that no amount of psychological mind games will one-up the other prior to fight night. Manny is already ahead of the curve and training at 100% efficiency. Floyd is probably already in fight shape and could fight Manny next week if he wanted. That’s what makes these two fighters above and beyond the competition.

Ring Magazine’s Doug Fischer, who has some of the most reliable and trusted insider sources in boxing, said today, “I’ve heard rumors that it could be announced during this weekend’s NBA All-Star game – maybe Les Moonves took my advice and brought in J.Prince (highly respected music and boxing manager who currently manages Andre Ward and formerly managed Floyd) to help convince Mayweather to finalize the deal.”

Pacquiao and Mayweather are second to none. They’re undeniably the two best all-stars in the sport today, and during NBA All-Star Weekend in New York, the fight will finally be announced.

The only way the message doesn’t get revealed this weekend is if more complications in Mayweather’s mind prevents him from manning up and taking the challenge. After all, we already knew the final contract, the posturing, the back-and-forth between the networks, and the media buzz were nothing but formalities all along.

WATCH: Mayweather shares video of Pacquiao hotel meeting

Floyd Mayweather Jr responds: We’re trying to make the fight happen with Pacquiao

{The following article is written by Dan Ambrose of BoxingNews24.}

Floyd Mayweather Jr took to his social media “shots” account today to give a brief message about his negotiations with Top Rank fighter Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather says he set up a meeting with the Filipino fighter, but that there are some out there that are giving a false message by saying it’s not happening. Mayweather doesn’t say who he’s referring to so you’re kind of left guessing.

It’s a positive sign that Mayweather is talking about him still working at the negotiations because there are some boxing fans, writers and fighters who believe that the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight is dead in the water.

“I set up this meeting with Manny Pacquiao to get this fight done, but they will continue to tell the public it’s us and that’s NOT TRUE,” Mayweather said on his Shots account today. “So while we wait y’all go download @Shots ASAP so I can keep you all updated on the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight that we are trying to make happen.”

If the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is going to happen then it’s going to probably require these two fighters to get together on a frequent basis for the two of them to iron out the problems themselves. If Mayweather leaves it up to his adviser Al Haymon, and Pacquiao leaves it to his promoter Bob Arum, it probably won’t get done.

It’s probable that we could see the two of them dig their feet into the sand and refuse to give ground. Mayweather and Pacquiao stand to gain the most, and that’s why it makes sense for them to go over the list of items that the negotiations are stuck and agree on things.

The area where Mayweather and Pacquiao can’t fix themselves is with the HBO and Showtime negotiations. However, Pacquiao has the muscle to push HBO into agreeing to the fight, but it might require for Pacquiao to push them. HBO obviously wants to keep Pacquiao under contract for as long as possible. They obviously don’t want to see Pacquiao move on and sign with Showtime out of disgust with HBO not being able to agree with Showtime for his mega-fight with Mayweather. The same token goes with Mayweather and Showtime. He can push Showtime to agree with HBO, as long as it’s nothing related to them giving up rebroadcast rights to the fight.

With Mayweather and Pacquiao working the process, we could see the fight signed fairly soon. Bob Arum is already talking about the HBO and Showtime negotiations finally being done. That leaves only two outstanding issues that need to be worked through before the fight contracts can be signed. It’s unclear what those two remaining issues are, but it’s got to be something significant for them to be still hashing those items out at this late stage.

Ideally, the negotiations need to be completed by next week in order for the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight not to be impacted by the lack of time to promote the fight. Arum wants as much time as possible to market the bout to the boxing public.

It’s unknown if Arum is interested in a world tour or merely a shot promotional tour of the United States. If Arum is on board with what Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz has been saying about the fight not needing much selling, then we could see very little marketing of the fight.

It’s a risky thing to do because there are a lot of casual boxing fans who are busy with their lives, and they may not hear about the fight unless Arum is willing to market the fight in a big way.

Mayweather-Pacquiao talks stall

A fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao wasn't announced during Sunday's Super Bowl, nor is it a done deal, but the two sides are approaching a likely make-or-break next few days.

After six years of on-again, off-again talks in which negotiations have failed multiple times, the two camps have hit a wall as they attempt to make a May 2 fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas happen.

"The thing that really concerns me is that we are running out of time for May 2," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who represents Pacquiao, told ESPN.com on Monday. "If you want to drag this out a little longer then move the fight to later in May -- May 30 is a good date -- or go in June.

We agreed to go on May 2 because that is the date Mayweather is hung up on, but if we're going to go on May 2 we need to get this done.

"Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s camp doesn't seem to have any urgency to work out the finer details of a contract, according to Manny Pacquiao's promoter.

If a meeting between the two welterweight champions in Pacquiao's Miami hotel suite last Tuesday night -- after they met face-to-face earlier in the evening and exchanged cell phone numbers during a chance halftime meeting at the Miami Heat-Milwaukee Bucks game they were coincidentally both attending -- led to the fight talks taking two steps forward, they have taken one step back in recent days.

While many were led to believe that the fighter camps were on the same page following the hotel meeting, and that the deal hinged only on CBS/Showtime, which has Mayweather under contract, and Time Warner/HBO, Pacquiao's exclusive network, finalizing a deal for a joint pay-per-view telecast, there are still open deal points between the fighters.

"There are issues that should be solved in 10 minutes, but it's a slow dance," Arum said. "We send one draft to their side and their lawyer sends back a draft with something else that's an issue. And there doesn't seem to be any urgency about it on their side. It's terrible."

Arum has negotiated many of the deal points for the bout through CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves, who has acted as a go-between for Mayweather and his adviser, Al Haymon. Arum said he continues to remain in touch with Moonves and that they exchanged emails on Monday trying to work out the issues.

"I've asked Les to expeditiously handle the points there are issues with," said Arum, who declined to go into the specific issues. "Moonves can handle it. The question is whether the Mayweather side will listen to him. If they're sincere about trying to make the fight it shouldn't be an issue, or are they playing a game? I don't know. I go back and forth. I thought they were always playing a game, that Floyd didn't want the fight.

"Then Manny and (adviser) Michael (Koncz) spent an hour or so with Mayweather in the hotel suite and they read it that, no, Mayweather really wants the fight. But I don't know. If people were really concentrating on this it could be done in no time."

Many of the issues that come up in a fight negotiation have been agreed to as Pacquiao, who has agreed to extend his Jan. 31-imposed deadline, and Arum have given in to one Mayweather demand after another. They include the financial split (60-40 in Mayweather's favor), Mayweather's preferred drug testing protocol (the one deal point that killed the initial negotiations in late 2009 and early 2010), the date, site, order of the ring walks and introductions and the name of the fight (Mayweather-Pacquiao). But there are still issues to work out.

"There are unresolved issues on both the fighter deal and the network deal. (The fighters are) on the same page regarding basic deal points but there are lot of meaningful items still unresolved," said one source involved in the negotiations.

The networks have been working on the terms in recent weeks, dealing with such issues as how to blend their on-air talent for the telecast, who will actually produce and direct the telecast in addition to numerous other production issues and how to handle the delayed broadcast.

According to sources involved in the talks, Showtime has pushed for a similar scenario they agreed to in their landmark 2002 deal to do a joint pay-per-view for the Lennox Lewis-Mike Tyson heavyweight title fight when Lewis was signed to HBO and Tyson was with Showtime. For that deal, they agreed that the network whose fighter won the fight would get the replay rights and pay the other network $3 million. HBO, however, according to sources, is pushing for simultaneous network replays of Mayweather-Pacquiao.

Stung by recent media reports that it is holding up a deal, HBO, which has not even publicly acknowledged the negotiations in the first place, issued a surprising statement on Monday in which it essentially said that nobody should blame it if the deal doesn't get done.

"We are not an impediment to this fight. We stand ready to go. The principals need to agree to terms and come to a deal," HBO Sports said in the statement. If the fighters and networks do not reach terms both sides need to make alternative plans.

Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) has said he intends to fight on May 2 whether it's against Pacquiao or somebody else, perhaps middleweight champion Miguel Cotto, of Puerto Rico, or former unified junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan of England. 

The main target for Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) in a backup plan to Mayweather is a May 30 fight against Khan, whom he met with and talked to about a possible deal during a trip to London two weeks ago.

{Article written by Dan Rafael of ESPN.com.}

HBO-Showtime impasse could kill Mayweather-Pacquiao fight

HBO and Showtime are still locked into negotiations and they reportedly have reached an impasse over the delayed telecast rights for the Floyd Mayweather Jr vs. Manny Pacquiao mega-fight, according to Mlive.com.

 The replay of the fight is very important because that’s where the big viewing numbers come in as boxing fans get a chance to watch the fight for free on regular HBO or Showtime rather than having to pay to see it.

 According to Mlive, HBO is “balking at the negotiation table, is acting on behalf of everyone on it’s side of the table, including Pacquiao.” Mlive writer David Mayo says that HBO seems to want the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight take place in 2016 when Mayweather is no longer under contract with Showtime. Mayweather’s contract with Showtime expires at the end of this year after he completes his last of two fights with the network.

If Mayweather were to sign with HBO in 2016, then there wouldn’t be any sharing of the telecast and HBO could then replay the fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao without having to deal with Showtime.

If HBO chooses to insist on being the one that replays the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, then it puts Showtime in the position where they would miss out on the huge amount of viewers who will be tuning in to see the fight on non-PPV a week after the fight. It’s not a good deal for the cable giant that doesn’t get a chance to replay the fight.

 When HBO and Showtime shared a joint telecast in 2002 in televising the Mike Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis fight, it was decided that the winner of the fight would have his network show the replay a week later.

It’s unclear why that method isn’t good now with the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. It could work just the same way, but it might not be a great deal for HBO, because a lot of boxing fans feel that Mayweather would easily out-box the shorter Pacquiao.

I’m not sure that the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight will hold the same kind of interest in 2016 than it does now. Mayweather will be 39-years-old in February of 2016. Beyond just the age factor, Mayweather will have get through two tough fights in 2015 to get to the Pacquiao fight next year, and that’s if Mayweather were to even consider leaving Showtime.

If he chooses to re-sign, which is a possibility, then we could be facing the same situation as we are now with HBO and Showtime having to decide which of the two networks will get the privilege of replaying the fight.

Pacquiao will also need to win his next two fights in 2015 for the mega-bout against Mayweather next year to be of interest for fans. If Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum is truly interested in matching Pacquiao against Amir Khan next then that could result in loss for Pacquiao.

At this point one more loss for Pacquiao would kill a lot of the interest in boxing fans seeing the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. How can you market a Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight if Pacquiao gets beaten by Khan?

The only fans that would be interested enough to see a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight after that would be the casual boxing fans who might not be aware that Pacquiao was beaten.

{This article is written by Chris Williams from Boxingnews24}

After Floyd's Tweet doesn't mean fight's not gonna happen

When Floyd Mayweather Jr. tweeted in his Twitter yesterday:

"While they continue to lie about making the fight... I'm just going to continue to travel and explore the world on my private jet. #FightNotMadeYet #Jamaica."

This is after having knowledge of the Mayweather camp that TMZ, a boxing news blog, reported in its site that the deal between Manny and Floyd has already been set. As if to say that the negotiations are over, the fight people want to see will happen.

Yahoo and other news sites perceived Floyd's tweet to be hopeless, that the fight isn't going to happen, even after having the two met face to face for the first time at American Airlines Arena last January 29.

Even reported to have the two talked privately in a hotel. Even after promoter Bob Arum's hopes of the fight, saying that he will announce it soon. When asked about the probability of the fight, he said, "I am very positive that the fight will happen. Announcement will be made very soon." 

But wait. Reading this from Floyd with the hashtag #FightNotMadeYet in Twitter doesn't mean the fight will not happen anymore.

Read the 'YET' word?

We really don't know what's going on inside the boxing world, the negotiations, the business and all that. SO we can't rush it for sure even this could have happened 5 years ago.

#FightNotMadeYet. Clearly means as of writing there hasn't been a GO signal from the Money Man yet that the fight's going to happen.

Probably. No. Definitely it will happen.

{news source} {Image}