Boxing Insider Fight Week Final Notebook: Pacquiao vs. Mayweather

By: William Holmes

The following is the final Boxing Insider special edition notebook for the upcoming Mayweather vs. Pacquiao super bout, set for May 2nd in Las Vegas, Nevada. This notebook covers most of the news and notes that have been emerging from their respective camps as we lead into fight week.

Pacquiao “Look a Like” Nearly Causes a Stampede at MGM Grand

The anticipation for Saturday’s fight has reached a level not seen for any fight in a very long time, and the hysteria caused a large scene at the MGM Grand this afternoon after the mistaken identity of an Asian man for Manny Pacquiao.

The lookalike was seen walking through the casino floor being escorted by security and a large mob of people started to follow them and took pictures causing a brief moment of chaos at the entrance of the MGM Grand Casino. Fight fans soon realized that it in fact was not Manny Pacquiao, but just goes to show the mania behind the event when the mere sight of a look a like nearly causes a stampede.

Pacquiao Mayweather Weigh-In Tickets Through the Roof

How much money is this fight bringing in?

The secondary market for the weigh in, not the fight card itself, is exploding and tickets are currently being resold for about $600 a pop. That’s $600 to watch two men weigh in wearing nothing but their underwear. Hopefully the pre weigh-in festivities will make it worth it for those spending that kind of money on a weigh in.

Celebrities Fighting for the Best Tickets to Mayweather-Pacquiao

The LA Times is reporting that celebrities will have to pay for a ticket to the upcoming Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight and that nobody will get a complimentary ticket.

“They all can’t sit in the front row,” said Dena duBoef of Top Rank Inc., which represents Pacquiao. “Tickets and seating are probably the biggest nightmare for this fight.”

Celebrities expected to be in attendance include Robert De Niro, Jesse Jackson, Sean Combs,

Clint Eastwood, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Michael J. Fox, Jerry Bruckheimer, Will Smith, Jimmy Kimmel, Ronda Rousey, Tom Brady, and nearly a dozen team owners.

Read more here.

Mayweather-Pacquiao Broadcasters May Pull Punches

Bob Raissman of the NY Daily News reported that due to Showtime and HBO networks working together, and due to the fact they have competing conflict of interests, fight fans may notice that the broadcasters will be pulling back some punches when they analyze and announce the fight. HBO’s broadcasters in particular have been critical of Mayweather I the past, but it’s expected that they will be more subdued on Saturday night. The PPV announce team will include Showtime’s Al Bernstein, Jim Gray, Steve Farhood and HBO’s Roy Jones Jr., Jim Lampley, Max Kellerman, and Harold Lederman.

Raissman’s story can be found here.

Global Eagle Entertainment to Broadcast Mayweather-Pacquiao Exclusively on Cruise Lines

Global Eagle Entertainment, a media and connectivity provider to the travel industry, has announced that its Maritime business group, GEE Maritime, will exlusively distribute the upcoming Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao boxing match to cruise lines worldwide. GEE Maritime is the exclusive distributor of this event to the Maritime market via MTN Communications satellite network, enabling those onboard a cruise line to view it.

Pacquiao’s Fight Camp Wanted Legal Online Streaming

Fight fans who wanted to stream Saturday’s fight will be disappointed that they won’t be able to pay to watch the fight online. Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank, told Bloomberg that his company wanted to offer fans a way to pay to watch the fight online, but Showtime and HBO vetoed the idea.

Neither HBO or Showtime is a stranger to streaming, but they probably weren’t interested since they wanted viewers to buy the $100 pay-per-view package. HBO, Showtime, and the promoters for the fight have also been aggressively pursuing illegal websites offering to stream the fight for free.

Read more at here.

Fight Knocks Out Six Cirque Du Soleil Shows

Norm Clarke of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported that six of eight Cirque du Soleil shows will shut down on Saturday to serve as venues for the closed-circuit broadcast of the fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

18,000 seats for the six Cirque du Soleil show venues were sold out.

Jerry Nadal, senior vice president of Cirque du Soleil was quoted as saying, “It’s not going to be an entertainment crowd anyway on Saturday.”

The projected numbers for the fight include 3 million buys and $74 million in gate revenue.

Re-Sale Ticket Prices Dropping

Darren Rovell of ESPN has reported that resale prices of tickets have been dropping. The meager 500 tickets released to the public sold out in a matter of minutes, but the resale market has started to fall. He reported that the average price of tickets sold on StubHub were sold for about $3,899, compared to $4,693 on Thursday.

One broker told Rovell that he believes even high rollers were scared off at the astronomical price of tickets.

Read more here.

WSJ’s Report on Where it All Began for Pacquiao

The Wall Street Journal reported that in General Santos City, you can see signs of the local hero’s success everywhere across the city.

The Journal noted how when Pacquiao was just 12 years old he used to earn money from fights and climb the tree’s branches and throw treats down to his classmates. He used to make 100 pesos ($3.50) a fight if he won and 50 pesos if he lost.

The journal also does an excellent job on informing their readers about Pacquiao’s upbringing which led him to boxing as well as how his town proudly shows off signs of their hero’s success as well as his several businesses that he currently owns.

Dana White to be a Credentialed Member of the Media

UFC President has made his love of boxing known to most and now he gets to attend the fight not as a paying fan, but as a credentialed member of the media.

Dana White will be working with Yahoo! Sports to provide analysis for the fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. Dana White has stated that he believes Floyd Mayweather Jr. will defeated Manny Pacquiao inside the ring.

Filipinos Urged to Turn Off Appliances During Pacquiao Fight

It has been reported that the Philippine Electric Company has urged customers to turn off major appliances to help prevent outages that have recently plagued his province so people can watch Saturday’s fight.

Palawan Electric Cooperative secretary Rante Ramos said shutting down refrigerators in 15,000 households alone will reduce the demand for electricity in the province enough to compensate for the expected power deficit of 2 megaweatts when the fight is aired in the Philippines on Saturday.