emirates man
apr/may 2015
| FEATURE | MANNY PACQUIAO
there to lose – hence the fact that this fight didn’t hap- pen five years ago, when both were at their peak. For the 36-year-old Pacquiao, however, it’s more
of a calling; he’ll get in the ring with anyone. There’s a story surrounding his fight with Miguel Cotto in 2009 where his team didn’t even want it to go ahead, fearing their man would struggle with the naturally bigger guy – anything over 140 pounds was consid- ered too much. Eventually the fight was arranged and after Manny had destroyed his opponent, as he so often does, he would tell people that he fought him because he was “curious” and that he wanted to “feel his power, just for himself”. Pacquiao fights like a fan would want him to; it’s almost an out-of-body expe- rience. “Everything is in God’s timing,” he explains to Emirates Man from the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood. “If he wants to open opportunities for me, he will”.
B Ringside seats that night were going for $150
(around $860 today), and the guest list read like a Vanity Fair Oscar party. The artist LeRoy Neiman painted them as they fought, Burt Lancaster was the commentator and Frank Sinatra couldn’t even get a seat – he had to settle for a press credit and take snaps for Life magazine just to get through the door. Once the dust had settled on Frazier’s victory
that night, the pattern was set. The marketing men zoned in and a promoter named Don King prepared to get rich quick. Countless fights followed and pay- per-view millions stacked up, but not since Ali was on the card has a fight been as eagerly anticipated as Mayweather vs Pacquiao. For most the 38-year-old Mayweather is a cert.
They cite his unbeaten record (47-0), that he has the best defence out there (a fact), and that he’s a guy who chooses fights with his head, not his heart. Floyd isn’t
“Living on the street was dangerous but sometimes you have no choice but to keep going – when you’re talking about survival, there’s really no choice to make”
rought up in General Santos City, Pac- quiao’s early life was one of crushing poverty. He left school as his mother struggled to cope with five children on her own and by the age of 14 he’d moved out altogether – to save her the expense of looking after him.
“I did everything I could to survive on the streets
as a child,” he says. “From selling donuts to fighting in underground boxing matches. It teaches you a work ethic. It was hard and dangerous but sometimes you have no choice but to keep going – when you’re talking about survival, there’s really no choice to make.” The Philippine Amateur Boxing Team eventually
offered him a way off the streets and his life would never be the same. From surreptitiously adding stones to his pockets to make fighting weight, to the tragic death of fellow boxer Eugene Barntag that would be the final push in his turning professional – the skinny kid from GenSan went on to become one of the greatest boxers of his generation. But one name was set to niggle away at the proud record of the eight-division world champion: Floyd Mayweather Jr. There are five years’ worth of column inches dedi-
cated to how a fight with Mayweather was never going to happen. Scheduled for 2009, plans were thrown into disarray over who was getting paid what and, famously, over blood tests leading up to the fight. It was done, Finished. Not a chance. Time moved on, both fighters fought. Pacquiao lost
(twice), he went into government – it’s where he’ll be post-boxing (“if you’re not aiming to help the people and make their lives better, what’s the point?”). Then suddenly, it was back on, but Mayweather wanted more money this time. The blood tests were an issue, again. The fight was off, again. Then came that chance meet- ing in Miami. “I’m not sure I look at it as a delay,” says Pacquiao
in typically philosophical mode. “I prefer to think of it as a fight years in the making, He didn’t want to fight me, but now that’s been sorted.” On that last point he’s got Mike Tyson in his corner.
71 PRIZE FIGHTING
Set to be the richest fight in boxing history, here are the numbers that matter
$120M Mayweather’s cut
$80M Pacquiao’s cut
$300-
500M Expected PPV revenue
$150M Previous record set by Mayweather (vs Oscar De La Hoya, 2013)
$1,000 Cheapest fight ticket available
$74M Expected gate receipts
3 MINUTES The time, from fight announcement, it took the MGM Grand to sell-out all 6,852 rooms for fight night
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