HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. (April 27, 2015) – After four rounds of sparring, working the mitts and a light workout, Fighter of the Decade, eight-division world champion and boxing superhero Congressman MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO (57-5-2, 38 KOs) completed his final day of training camp at Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, Calif. today. From there the Pacquiao caravan, including a luxury bus festooned from stem to stern with Manny’s image (photos attached) , began its trek to Las Vegas for Fight Week, celebrating his May 2 welterweight world championship unification battle against undefeated FLOYD “Money” MAYWEATHER JR. (47-0, 26 KOs), at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

“Our long international boxing nightmare will soon be over,” declared Hall of Fame trainer World-Famous Freddie Roach. “Boxing has been held hostage by Floyd Mayweather and his antics long enough. Manny is going to stand up to Floyd on May 2 and put a bully in his place. On paper – and in the sports books – Manny shouldn’t stand a chance. But neither did David against Goliath. Just remember, Manny has always come out on top when he was the underdog and you don’t have to look any further than his victories over Ledwaba, Barrera and De La Hoya. As Manny said earlier, ‘It is time for Floyd to lose.’ Manny is on a mission. This fight is his crusade. The fans of the world are rooting for Manny to win just like they willed this fight to happen. He is their champion. This will be their victory.”

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Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is a 12-round welterweight world championship unification bout promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Inc., and is sponsored by Tecate con caracter, Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions –Terminator Genisys, in theaters July 1st, Paramount Pictures & Skydance Productions present MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION, in theaters & IMAX July 31st, The Weinstein Company and the new movie Southpaw, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, in theaters everywhere July 24 and Mexico, Live it to Believe it. The pay-per-view telecast will be co-produced and co-distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT.

# # #

For more information visit: www.mayweatherpromotions.com, www.toprank.com, www.hbo.com/boxing, www.SHO.com/Sports, and www.mgmgrand.com and follow on Twitter at @floydmayweather, @MannyPacquiao, @mayweatherpromo, @TRBoxing, @HBOboxing, @SHOSports, and @Swanson_Comm, and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FloydMayweather, www.facebook.com/TopRankMannyPacquiao www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions, www.facebook.com/TRBoxing, www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOsports.

LAS VEGAS (April 27, 2015) – A full lineup of present and future boxing stars is set to entertain the MGM Grand Garden Arena crowd in pay-per-view and non-televised action before the history-making welterweight showdown between Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao on Saturday, May 2.

The pay-per-view undercard is topped by a pair of fights featuring two of boxing’s most talented and exciting stars as WBC Super Bantamweight World Champion Leo “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz (29-0-1, 17 KOs) faces Mexican brawler Jose Cayetano (17-3, 8 KOs) and WBO Featherweight World Champion Vasyl Lomachenko (3-1, 1 KO) takes on Puerto Rican contender Gamalier Rodriguez (25-2-3, 17 KOs).

The pay-per-view telecast will be co-produced and co-distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT.

Exciting non-televised bouts round out the action in the arena as top undefeated prospects look to keep their perfect records intact.

The slick and undefeated Chris “Sweet” Pearson (11-0, 9 KOs) meets Said El Harrak (12-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round middleweight bout and heavy-fisted Jesse Hart (16-0, 13 KOs) takes on fellow unbeaten Mike Jimenez (17-0, 11 KOs) in a 10-rounder or the NABO, USBA and NABF Super Middleweight titles.

An undefeated knockout artist looking to make it 10-for-10, Andrew “The Beast” Tabiti (9-0, 9 KOs) faces Anthony Caputo Smith (15-4, 10 KOs) in an eight- rounds cruiserweight match.

Kicking off the night of fights is undefeated contender Brad Solomon (24-0, 9 KOs), who’ll be opposed by Adrian Rene Granados (13-3, 9 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight bout.

“Mayweather Promotions is looking forward to bringing some of boxing’s most exciting current and future stars to the fans on the biggest night in our sport’s history,” said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. “Whether you are watching on pay-per-view or in the arena, you are in store for an electric night of fights.”

“Each undercard match could be a main event on another card,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank. “Fans can watch the exciting action as a warm-up to the most anticipated fight in decades.”

As previously announced, 26-year-old Santa Cruz will be making his second appearance on a Floyd Mayweather pay-per-view undercard. The fan-friendly two-division world champion has defended his super bantamweight title numerous times in impressive fashion on his way to earning a reputation as one of the most exciting fighters in the world. Born in Huetamo, Michoaca de Ocampo, Mexico but fighting out of Los Angeles, Santa Cruz won his first world title in 2012. In 2013 he won his super bantamweight title.

Fighting out of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, Cayetano turned pro in 2009 and sprinted to a 10-0 record before dropping a narrow split decision to Ruben Tamayo in 2011. He most recently dropped a decision to Enrique Bernache in February after defeating Dennis Contreras and Eden Marquez in his previous two starts. He hopes to make a grand impression in his U.S. debut on May 2.

Arguably the greatest amateur boxer of all-time, with two Olympic gold medals and two Amateur National Championships, 27-year-old Lomachenko has already made a great impact in the professional ranks. He won his world title with a majority decision over Gary Russell Jr. last year. Making the second defense of his 126-pound title, the fighter out of Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi, Ukraine will be going for his third straight win overall when he battles Rodriguez.

An accomplished veteran from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, Rodriguez gets an opportunity on boxing’s biggest stage when he battles Lomachenko. The 28-year-old has not lost a fight since 2009 and has 17 consecutive victories since a technical draw in 2010. He won twice in 2014, picking up a unanimous decision victory over Orlando Cruz and a second round TKO over Martin Cardona.

Fighting out of Philadelphia, Hart was an accomplished amateur who was a 2012 U.S. Olympic alternate after earning a U.S. National Championship and a National Golden Gloves Championship. The 25-year-old will fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena for the first time since his professional debut in 2005 when he stopped Manuel Eastman in the first round. This time, he will look to remain undefeated and catapult himself to contender status.

Undefeated and facing the biggest challenge of his career, the 27-year-old Jimenez will make his Las Vegas debut on May 2. Having already delivered a second round knockout over Kevin Engel in 2015 the fighter out of Chicago will look to impress on the biggest stage of his career against Hart.

A three-time National Golden Gloves Champion, Solomon fights out of Lafayette, Louisiana and is aiming to maintain his perfect record.. The 31-year-old picked up victories in 2014 over Eduardo Flores, Freddy Hernandez and Arman Ovsepyan. Solomon takes on the 25-year-old Granados out of Cicero, Illinois.

* * *

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is a 12-round welterweight world championship unification bout promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Inc., and is sponsored by Tecate con caracter, Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions –Terminator Genisys, in theaters July 1st, Paramount Pictures & Skydance Productions present MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION, in theaters & IMAX July 31st, The Weinstein Company and the new movie Southpaw, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, in theaters everywhere July 24 and Mexico, Live it to Believe it. The pay-per-view telecast will be co-produced and co-distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT.

For more information visit www.mayweatherpromotions.com, www.toprank.com, www.SHO.com/Sports,www.hbo.com/boxing and www.mgmgrand.com and follow on Twitter at @floydmayweather, @MannyPacquiao @mayweatherpromo, @TRBoxing, @SHOSports, @HBOboxing and @Swanson_Comm, and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FloydMayweather, www.facebook.com/TopRankMannyPacquiao www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions, www.facebook.com/TRBoxing, www.facebook.com/SHOsports andwww.facebook.com/HBOBoxing.

maywe
NEW YORK (April 27, 2015) – Talk about a winning, knockout daily double! From the main event on horse racing’s biggest day of the year to the main event of boxing’s most anticipated matchup in decades, Saturday May 2, promises to be a fast-paced, hard-hitting and special day for sports fans around the world.

For the Kentucky Derby, the Mayweather-Pacquiao promotion has signed an exclusive sponsorship deal with Starlight Racing’s “Itsaknockout.” Just a few hours after the race for the roses, 11-time world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather and eight-division world champion Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao will meet in a welterweight world championship bout that is expected to set new revenue records in virtually every category.

The sponsorship of “Itsaknockout,” represents a convergence of leading entities in their respective fields: Jack Wolf and Starlight Racing; seven-time Eclipse Award winning trainer Todd Pletcher at racing’s most prestigious event; and boxing superstars Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, both of whom are destined for the boxing Hall of Fame; leading boxing promotional outfits Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Inc.; co-producers SHOWTIME PPV® and HBO Pay-Per-View®; and boxing event’s host, MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

The deal to sponsor “Itsaknockout,” brought about by Steve Rosner of 16W Marketing, is part of an aggressive campaign for “MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO,” that includes unprecedented support from PPV distributors, a national ad campaign and support from the television networks, promoters and the MGM Grand. Team “Itsaknockout” will show its support of the fight during Derby Week with the thoroughbred wearing a “MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO” branded blanket, branding on Jockey Luis Saez and branded apparel on Pletcher’s racing crew tending to “Itsaknockout.”

“The opportunity to sponsor a horse running in the Kentucky Derby appropriately named ‘ItsaKnockout’ is a fantastic fit for the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight and the magnitude of the promotion on all levels,” said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO Mayweather Promotions. “It’s going to be a knockout of a sports weekend with both events the same day and we wish this champion horse well, hoping his name comes true with a victory in the Derby.”

“From Gate to Finish, beginning with the Kentucky Derby and ending with Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, Saturday, May 2 will be the most exciting day in sports,” said Todd duBoef, president of Top Rank. “Itsaknockout may be the horse we are sponsoring but it also describes the historic day fans will be talking about for years to come.”

“There is a natural and unmistakable connection between the Kentucky Derby and Mayweather vs. Pacquiao, two world-class sporting events that showcase the talent of athletes performing at the highest level and on the biggest stage,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “May 2 will be an historic day in sports, one that has the potential to cement legacies and redefine what we consider to be legendary.”

One of the most decorated fighters in the history of the sport, the undefeated Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) is an 11-time world champion in five weight divisions and is universally recognized as the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in the world. A four-time “Fighter of the Year,” Mayweather has defeated 20 world champions.

Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) is the only fighter to win eight world titles in as many different weight divisions. A three-time Fighter of the Year and the Boxing Writers Association of America’s “Fighter of the Decade,” Pacquiao is seeking to defeat his third consecutive unbeaten world champion. His last 15 fights have been against world champs.

For more information visit www.mayweatherpromotions.com, www.toprank.com, www.SHO.com/Sports, www.hbo.com/boxing and www.mgmgrand.com and follow on Twitter at @floydmayweather, @MannyPacquiao @mayweatherpromo, @TRBoxing, @SHOSports, @HBOboxing and @Swanson_Comm, and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FloydMayweather, www.facebook.com/TopRankMannyPacquiao, www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions, www.facebook.com/TRBoxing, www.facebook.com/SHOsports and www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing.

By Bart Barry–

Saturday at MGM Grand Garden Arena, before a crowd likely to comprise not one person reading this column, American Floyd Mayweather finally will fight Filipino Manny Pacquiao. The time for manufactured enthusiasm is upon us, for tossing oneself wholly into the futility of shouting in print towards a volume to rival the industrial din of Time Warner and CBS and Walt Disney Company. To wit:

MAYWEATHER WILL WIN THIS FIGHT!!!

At long last, the event anticipated to break revenue records we’re told we care so deeply about arrives on our video-display devices – so order live today! Boxing promoters or managers or advisors, or whichever new euphemism they next hide beneath, are the direct descendants of yestercentury’s circus barker; they believe in an inexhaustible supply of nitwits to whom they can provide the tricky service of relieving one of his wallet, and they fail disproportionately more often than they succeed. But they will not fail Saturday, provided Saturday’s one-off cashgrab is the end of their tabulations.

There’s no way to calculate, immediately, the sum of resentment to be felt among boxing’s comparatively tiny band of loyal supporters – the ones who wasted money on Mayweather-Baldomir, or paid to be in Cowboys Stadium for Pacquiao-Clottey and its egregiously priced parking – but it will be an increasingly easy number to derive in the next five years, as local gyms continue to shutter and ticketsales at local shows continue to follow. Attendance for Saturday represents a proper perspective from which to consider the coming resentment; priced to ensure no rightminded aficionado attends, tickets that, bizarrely even for boxing, were not available till a few days ago betray the organizers’ organizing vision: the biggest boxing matches, made-by-television spectacles, someday soon will happen in broadcasters’ very studios.

Logistics are the reason the largest American boxing outlets cite when asked why they couldn’t broadcast live from, say, Wembley Stadium, where 80,000 Brits gathered to watch Carl Froch in 2014. Putting fights directly in studios should solve that problem. Promoters do not promote any longer in any event; they organize and book and contract vendors of every kind to do all the jobs promoters once did, though boxing was admittedly a touch late to the outsourcing trend, and the inaccessibility of Pacquiao-Mayweather would be collectively maddening if boxing fans did not, as one clever wag on Twitter put it, have Stockholm Syndrome.

That does little, however, to explain MGM Grand’s tolerance for the consequences of a rivalry between promoter Bob Arum and adviser Al Haymon in something so great and complicated as the historic gouging of sportsfans; why the hell is MGM Grand overpaying for this spectacle if not to bring folks to its slot machines? And because of the boxoffice delay, rest assured there will be fewer handles pulled along the Strip this week. Whatever inflated earnings reports crash down on aficionados’ bowed heads in the next month – the pay-per-view number has already been set over 3 million, and anyone who’s been interested in boxing for more than the last month, no more than 500,000 Americans in a nation of 300 million, knows no match has ever officially missed its predicted number; missed numbers do not get announced – rest assured total revenue should have been more.

A week after Pacquiao-Mayweather, Mexican Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will fight Texan James Kirkland at Minute Maid Park in Houston, and will do so before a crowd that should be about three times MGM Grand’s crowd.

“But oh,” cries a passel of aspiring businessmen from their parents’ couches, “they won’t make as much money!”

First of all, why the hell are you so excited about strangers making money?

Second of all, three times as many aficionados and potential aficionados will have a chance to see a major event in a sport you care about, which is better for your sport in every single way.

Third of all, when you cheer against your own self-interests, you don’t look wise or even pragmatic – no matter how expertly you cock the brim of your TMT hat – you look like a damn sucker.

Writing of which, there is a good chance Floyd Mayweather will win 10 or 11 rounds Saturday night. He is much larger than Manny Pacquiao, he has the back of a middleweight, however noble his perfectly ineffective 2010 crusade against PEDs proved, and Pacquiao has not been anywhere near the storm at 147 pounds he was at 130. Pacquiao is better than every opponent Mayweather has dared to fight, yes, and Pacquiao will hit Mayweather with more left hands than the sum of Mayweather opponents since Oscar De La Hoya, but there is a very good chance they will not affect Mayweather very much at all. The recent appointment of Kenny Bayless as Saturday’s referee, too, ensures Mayweather will be allowed to hold to a point of tackling Pacquiao if he’s so compelled, and Pacquiao has never been mistaken for Roberto Duran on the inside, anyway.

Is there a chance Pacquiao’s extraordinary conditioning and unique punching angles will cause fatigue enough to bring the bitch out of Mayweather? Actually, no, not really; whatever Mayweather supporters and everyone else may think, Floyd Mayweather is all fighter when he has to be. Much like Pacquiao’s match with De La Hoya 6 1/2 years ago, this fight will be incredibly intriguing for a round or two – though not $100 worth of intriguing. Much unlike Pacquiao’s 2008 match with De La Hoya, the things Pacquiao will need to do to cause an opponent’s slumpshouldered retreat to his own corner will not be things Pacquiao can do.

I’ll take Mayweather, UD-12.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

April 26, 2015 – HBO Sports is the fight fan’s destination for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight week news and information, providing viewers with an in-depth look across television, digital and social platforms at the blockbuster welterweight unification title showdown set for Saturday, May 2 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The event will be carried live on pay-per-view.

Fans will have access to new programming, specials, updates from HBO Boxing Insiders and exclusive videos leading up to fight night. There will also be behind-the-scenes photos, videos, live streams and other customized content available.

Among the new content airing on the main HBO service during fight week will be the “Weigh-In Live: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao” special on Friday, May 1 at 6:00 p.m. ET and the “Countdown Live: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao” special on Saturday, May 2 at 8:00 p.m. ET.

Monday, April 27

· Mayweather/Pacquiao: The Legends Speak – 10:45 p.m. (ET/PT) HBO

Tuesday, April 28

· Mayweather/Pacquiao: At Last – 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT) HBO2

Wednesday, April 29

· Final press conference – streamed live – 4:00 p.m. ET/1:00 p.m. PT

o Link: https://youtu.be/VUywAG7NlMg
o Embed Code:
· Mayweather/Pacquiao: At Last – 11:00 a.m. & 4:30 p.m. (ET/PT) HBO

· Mayweather/Pacquiao: The Legends Speak – 12:00 p.m. & 5:30 p.m. (ET/PT) HBO

Thursday, April 30

· Mayweather/Pacquiao: The Legends Speak – 11:35 a.m. (ET/PT) HBO2

Friday, May 1

· Weigh-In Live: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao – 6:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO

· Official Weigh-In – streamed live – 6:00 p.m. ET/3:00 p.m. PT

o Link: https://youtu.be/GoaWZ5UwQeY
o Embed Code:

· Takahiro Ao vs. Ray Beltran lightweight title fight – 10:00 p.m. ET on truTV (Series premiere)

Saturday, May 2

· Countdown Live: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao – 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT on HBO

· Countdown Live: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao – streamed live – 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT

o Link: https://youtu.be/7Pw3pGgXGrk
o Embed Code:
· Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. Live on pay-per-view. 9:00 p.m. ET/ 6:00 p.m. PT.

*Events and times subject to change*

Boxing fans can also view Manny Pacquiao classic fights from the past with “Pacquiao vs. Bradley II 2014;” “Pacquiao vs. Cotto 2009;” and “Pacquiao vs. De La Hoya 2008.” The mini-marathon of Pacquiao classic fights is available on HBO On Demand, HBO GO and HBO NOW.

For more information, visit www.hbo.com/boxing; follow on Twitter at @HBOBoxing; become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing; and visit on Instagram @HBOboxing. Follow the conversation using #MayPac.

MAYWEATHER VS. PACQUIAO takes place Saturday, May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. The live pay-per-view telecast will begin at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, next Saturday night;s mega showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao has generated a record $13.2 million in sponsorship revenue.

Lucia McKelvey, Top Rank’s executive vice president of marketing since 2011, made most of the sponsor deals. She also has served as Pacquiao’s individual deal agent since 2011.

“We killed it, we blew it out of the water,” said McKelvey, who worked with Bruce Binkow of Mayweather Promotions, co-promoter of the fight, on the sponsor deals.

The big one is the $5.6 million sponsorship from Tecate, the official beer of the fight. Tecate has sponsored Pacquiao fights and Top Rank events for several years. Its bid beat the $5.2 million bid from Corona, the beer company that has sponsored Mayweather’s recent fights.

“We have been sponsoring boxing since 2007 so we have been associating ourselves with boxing and been waiting for so many years for a fight like this,” Tecate brand director Gustavo Guerra told ESPN.com. “We know in the past we have had great fights but nothing is going to be compared to what is already called the fight of the century. We wanted to increase our brand awareness and we will achieve it with this fight.

“It is like the Super Bowl of boxing, a gigantic sporting event. It’s good for us. It’s about credibility. We cannot have the luxury of being out of this fight. This is very important for us.”

Paramount Pictures/Skydance Productions is promoting two movies: “Terminator Genisys,” a follow-up on the “Terminator” movie series that opens July 1, and “Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation,” another film in the “Mission Impossible” series that opens July 31. The Weinstein Company is promoting a new film, “Southpaw,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, which opens on July 24.

Trailers for the new films will be seen between fights on the pay-per-view telecast.

Also sponsoring the fight are the Mexican Tourism Board with its “Mexico, Live it to Believe it” campaign to promote tourism in Mexico, and Smart Communications, a Filipino telecom company that has long sponsored Pacquiao’s fights.

Mark Taffet Welcome everybody. Thanks for joining us this afternoon for the HBO “Mayweather/Pacquiao: Legends Speak” Conference Call. We have our special guest today, one of the all-time great legends and Hall of Famer, George Forman.

George has been in more super fights than many of us frankly have actually attended or watched. He has mega fight credentials like no one in history. Back on October 30 of 1974, the world stopped and watched as George Foreman had his epic fight against Mohammed Ali from Zaire and I am particularly proud to say that George fought Evander Holyfield in HBO pay-per-view’s very first fight back on April 19, 1991, and it was a night that all of us will never forget.

I can’t think of someone who might shed more genuine insight and perspective into what type of preparations Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather are going through as they get ready for the May 2 mega fight and George was gracious enough to sit on a roundtable panel a few weeks ago that we conducted for a really, really special show appearing Saturday night called, “Mayweather/Pacquiao The Legends Speak.”

That panel included George Foreman, Bernard Hopkins, and Lennox Lewis who participated respectively in the Foreman Ali fight in Zaire. Hopkins trended that fight at Madison Square Garden for the middleweight championship right after 9/11 and Lennox Lewis’ fight against Mike Tyson from Memphis in 2002. They will be joined by Max Kellerman as a moderator on that panel and we will also have on that show the five men who fought both Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather. That’s Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Ricky Hatton, and Shane Mosley.

So now with no further adieu, I want to remind you that that show “Mayweather/Pacquiao The Legends Speak” is going to air Saturday night immediately following our big heavyweight championship showdown from Madison Square Garden with Wladimir Klitschko taking on Bryant Jennings which starts at 10pm ET on HBO. We’ve only got George for a short time so we’re going to let him take over from here and speak a little and take questions from you. So let’s get started.

George, do you have anything to say? You want to just keep a little bit of an overview of what it’s like being you and going through the history we talked about?

George Foreman: Yes. It’s really good and I was really happy to be part of the panel to kind of describe because it brought back old memories I thought I had put to rest especially with the big fight of Mohammed Ali, George Foreman in Zaire and what it felt to be the one guy who knows what it’s all about to be undefeated and fight for the championship of the world for a guy who has been defeated more than once. I had that perspective and know what it feels not only to be in that position but to be knocked off that pedestal, not only lose the title, but to win with the (unintelligible).

I’ve been a fighter who’s been defeated. So with the panel, I will ask questions like that and how do I feel it’s going to go. The bigger puncher or the better boxer. I had all kind of thoughts on that and I was able to express swiftly with the HBO show coming up. So if you guys would like to ask any questions on how I feel about it…

Question: Hi. Thank you for putting me on the call. It’s quite a pleasure to talk to George Foreman. I have a couple of questions for the champ. Hello George.

George Foreman: Yes sir.

Question: Assuming Wladimir Klitschko beats Brian Jennings, and I think it’s the prevailing belief that he will, regarding Klitschko in his place in boxing history George, is he overrated, is he underrated? How should American fans in media think of his place in heavyweight championship history? They seem confused.

George Foreman: Confused is what it’s all about. Klitschko has had a good career. A lot of his fights have been out of the country as though he hasn’t even been invited into the real heavyweight picture in the United States. He’s a good fighter. You can’t talk about him unless you can beat him and it doesn’t seem that there’s anyone around who can truly beat him. The guy is good enough to be heavyweight champ of the world. No one can take that away from him unless you beat him. That’s all I can say. Words can’t dethrone him.

Question: George, why do you think Americans have lost interest in heavyweight boxing in the heavyweight championship? I mean, things are clearly not how they were when men like you, Ali, Fraser and the rest of those icons were active. What’s happened?

George Foreman: No. I mean, it’s like a vacuum cleaner for outer space. We are looking for heavyweights. We are searching everywhere. Looking under beds and under the rocks. Looking for great heavyweights. There just aren’t any around and if there were, we could take over but for some reason everybody’s got the glamour of all the other sports. Basketball, football, baseball has taken over but boxing will be back. Heavyweights will come on the scene and you won’t have to worry about who is heavyweight champ of the world. His name will ring loud but it will be an American.

Question: What do you think about Shannon Briggs still sticking around fighting, sticking around boxing, particularly at that advanced age, his social media campaign against Wladimir Klitschko? Real life – it seems like he’s stalking him in real life. Can he be the George Foreman of his time? He certainly claims to be. Can he regain the title?

George Foreman: I don’t think he was very good when he was real good and now he’s not very good. I guess you can read that but it’s nice to have an American heavyweight we can talk about. I can tell you that so let it be.

Question: Right and George, just one other thing. What do you recall about a possible Mike Tyson fight that might have taken place with you and Mike Tyson back in 1991 what? I think that was when the window was most open. The fight didn’t happen. Why?

George Foreman: In that strange because some things evidently are not meant to happen. To punchers meeting in the middle of the ring, neither one is looking to retreat or backpedal, that would’ve been one of the greatest heavyweight fights of all time. Great heavyweight. I mean, no jabbing, hiding out of the way, coming to us, I wish it had happened for boxing sake, but glad it didn’t happen for my own safety.

Question: Hey George Foreman. Pleasure to be on the line with you. Appreciate you taking the time my friend. My question is very direct. Who is going to win May 2, Mayweather or Pacquiao and how?

George Foreman: I picked Pacquiao to win six rounds and I think the seventh round will be even. Mayweather comes only but because he starts slow, it’s going to be too late. If you’re looking for some good judging, this fight will be one by one round over by Pacquiao on point.

Question: Maybe by – maybe by a single round. So the judges are going to screw it up. Is that right George?

George Foreman: If we’ve got good judges this time, it’s go Pacquiao – Mayweather starts off early kind of looking for his timing and this guy actually – Pacquiao will pop shot him and get ahead on points and he’ll stay ahead. He’ll slow down later on and Mayweather will take on the more aggression but he doesn’t have a right hand. He’ll hurt his right hand. He can’t get a knock-out. So he’ll just have to cruise on in and win or lose the fight just by a couple of points.

Question: Alright. A couple of points and you expect it to be a good fight, or a great fight, or will it not be able to exceed expectations?

George Foreman: I think for those who really are pure, the laws of boxing, it’s going to be a fantastic, amazing boxing match. One that is going to live up to all the hype. It really will.

Question: Will live up to all the hype. Excellent and last one sir. We tried to build our narratives as writers. A lot of people are trying to portray this is good versus evil. Mayweather likes to brag about his money a lot, show big stacks of bills and in a world in which there so much poverty, a lot of people find that to be repulsive. I’m wondering do we writers make too much of that trying to build up the good versus evil narrative or is there actually something to that?

George Foreman: There’s never been a great fight without the writers taking on and finding an identity for it. That’s probably what has happened boxing. Writers are not writing about us big boys anymore and I tell you right, however you feel, take something, find it, and use it because American needs something to read about. Not to see on television, but to read about. Let the writers take over.

Question: Let the writing take over.

George Foreman: Yes.

Question: Excellent. I’m saying that to the masses and all the social classes. I appreciate it George. Be well.

George Foreman: The only thing that Mayweather has going for him, and I’m going to tell you, he’s an American.

George Foreman: He’s got that going for him and nobody can take that from him.

Question: You kind of touched on it earlier. The division, in particular, has become very international. Klitschko hasn’t really fought in the US. I think maybe a big part of it has been the breakup of the Soviet Union and allowing all of these Russian fighters to be in a division that might not have participated before. I guess my question is do you think this internationalization, for lack of a better word of the sport, is a positive for boxing even if it’s become less popular in the United States

George Foreman: Yes. It’s the best thing that ever happened to boxing. All of the international guys that come in, all the talent from around the world, it helped boxing to make it great and everybody’s going to be on the edge of their seat watching the outcome of this fight because of the international flavor. It’s great for boxing and wherever hunger is, you’re going to have the best fighters. There seem to be more hungry guys from Russia

Question: I’m just wondering how often you have had a chance to see Jennings fight and what’s your assessment of his skills and his advantages?

George Foreman: Don’t know much about them. Wish I knew more about him but it’s going to really take someone special to dethrone Klitschko. It’s just – the guy is tall and believe me, a lot of people don’t understand that he’s the product of America. Emanuel Stewart teamed up with him and taught him how to stay on the jab and let him study it this guy is not really what you call an international fighter. He has cloned the American style. He’s got it.

Question: Hey George. It’s such a pleasure talking to you. Big fan. Connected to the Mayweather and Pacquiao a little bit earlier. What does a counter puncher, a pure counter puncher like Mayweather have to do against a busy puncher like Pacquiao to win?

George Foreman: The story of a counterpunch is that they are not going to do anything until you do something. It’s like, throw your punch. He said, wait because I’m waiting for him to throw his first. That’s why with a counter puncher against Pacquiao, you’re going to have to throw hard shots because you’ve got to get him dizzy and go for the finished two or three times and that’s what Mayweather is going to have to do. He can’t wait and hit later on. He’s going to have to throw combination and seek – you’re not going to get a knockout that easy but try anyway early on to stay ahead on point.

Question: We’ve seen Mayweather in the past often quite up and raise his shoulder up and use that defense and then kind of perform surgery on his opponents and pick them apart in later rounds. Do you think that can possibly work against Pacquiao and all his movement?

George Foreman: Well, he can only raise his shoulders and use that counter punching if somebody is attacking. Pacquiao is really a pop shot artist. He jabs you, moves to the side, sticks his head in, throws a punch from different angles. It’s hard to really get a counterpunch in or it’s not that easy on the guys he’s been facing. Mayweather is by far a defense of genius but believe me, to win these rounds, you’re going to have to become an offensive technician.

Question: Good afternoon George. I just have one question. You feel that too many comparisons are being made for the super fight of Mayweather versus Pacquiao to where their places in history instead of on the merits of the fight itself?

George Foreman: I think it’s a wonderful thing. We really like the idea to resurrect those old guys from the past. Keep it going. Keep comparing. I mean, comparing us. I mean, the families of Sugar Ray Robinson, the families of Joe Lewis or whoever. All these names are thrown out there and it gives us a chance to live again. I think the comparisons are good although this is a great fight by itself

Question: Hey George. Thanks for having us. Really quick – just sort of the premise of this call. I wanted to ask you what it’s like to be a fighter in a fight of this magnitude and you’ve been in that with Ali in Zaire and this is the biggest fight of the century. As a fighter, what is it like to be involved in this for these guys do you think?

George Foreman: This is probably for both Pacquiao and Mayweather the most lonely hours they’ve ever had in their life because you can train, you can have 1,000 people around you, but there’s no one truly to talk this over with. You’ve got to spend a lot of time within yourself. I remember that so much in those big fights how lonely it was because there is a conversation that can be discussed. No one can – you can only talk it over with you, inside you, and the bigger the fight is, the greater that conversation in the greater you have to go inside of yourself. It’s lonely. It’s more than lonely.

Question: Hey George. Hopping back in queue. I wanted to get your take on Floyd Mayweather not backing off of what he said a couple of days ago. He said, yes, he’s the greatest of all time. He’s the best ever. He said, Ali, yes he was great but he only did it in one weight class. I wanted to get your take on that. What are your thoughts?

George Foreman: Mayweather – and this fight, everything that he says amounts to be like one of those guys in church saying, ‘amen, amen,’ and the more he says it, the more you want to ‘amen’ him and become friends with him. Maybe he will loan you a couple of bucks.

The guy is that good. Even if you don’t like him, he’s good enough for you. I mean, you’ve got to be very good to have someone dislike you.

Mohammed Ali, George Foreman, we’ve had our day. I mean, look, we can’t do anything to help the future of boxing matches. Mayweather can. We’ve got to cheer for him. If that’s what he needs to do his talk, great.

Question: Hello George. You talked in an earlier question about the loneliness factor. I’d like to talk about something similar which is the pressure that the two fighters must be feeling. How did you deal with the pressure of the eyes of the world upon you and how do you think Floyd Mayweather and Pacquiao are doing dealing with the pressures upon them right now?

George Foreman: I think Pacquiao has a little better because he’s already picked as the underdog. There’s not a whole lot of pressure on him but once you ever get into a boxing match of this nature and you’ve never lost before, you wake up in the morning, your heart is beating, you go to bed with a fast beat. You’re nervous. There’s so much pressure on Mayweather. More pressure probably than any athlete around right now because he’s undefeated so to speak.

Question: How devastating do you think a loss would be to Mayweather at this point in his career?

George Foreman: Once you’re – I was in that position when I lost to Mohammed Ali. It wasn’t like I lost the title. You lose your perspective of who you are as a human being. This could really knock him out that’s why I don’t think there can easily be a rematch if Mayweather loses because you have to go out into the mountains somewhere, the hills somewhere, to try to find himself all over again. This could devastate him as a boxer, not as a man, but as a boxer, this could devastate him, a loss.

Question: So I guess the potential for a rematch would be, in your eyes, not likely if Mayweather lost. Would you see a rematch if Pacquiao was the loser?

George Foreman: Mayweather is still in the driver seat. It wouldn’t change things much. That’s why it’s very important that Pacquiao takes advantage of this being the underdog. Here are, a great fighter like he is, and underdog. All he has to do is be himself and win that fight through every round, one after another, and if he doesn’t, then he’s going to put on a good show because that’s all he knows. So he went to matter what.

George Foreman: Guys, make sure you have a lot of fun. Remember boxing is in its heyday all over again. I’m happy. I’m just so happy for boxing

George Foreman: Thank you.

NEW YORK (April 24, 2015) – Showtime Networks Inc. and parent company CBS Corporation have scheduled a broad range of programming and promotion across the Company’s diverse portfolio of media platforms in anticipation of the showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao on Saturday, May 2.

SHOWTIME Sports® is anchoring the charge with 13½ hours of first-run shoulder programming, including its acclaimed documentary series INSIDE MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO, classic fights and a comprehensive offering of digital assets.

In addition, the CBS Television Network will run promotional spots in primetime and late-night programming throughout fight week. This will be supplemented with marketing support and editorial coverage from CBS Sports Digital, significant coverage across CBS Sports Radio and a dozen CBS Radio stations throughout the country, and a robust schedule of shoulder programming and marketing support on CBS Sports Network.

“The Company is uniquely positioned to support an event of this magnitude with media assets across virtually every medium,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “We’re grateful for the company-wide support and look forward to an all-encompassing push leading to May 2 leading into this milestone sports event.”

SHOULDER PROGRAMMING AND PROMOTIONAL SUPPORT WILL INCLUDE:
INSIDE MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO delivers a unique perspective of the pound-for-pound champion Mayweather in the weeks leading up to the marquee event. The four-part documentary series from SHOWTIME Sports includes the Sports Emmy Award-winning “Epilogue” which shines the spotlight on Fight Week and takes viewers inside the ropes on Fight Night. A full schedule of the four-part series is detailed below.

CBS Television Network will run Mayweather vs. Pacquiao promos during primetime and late-night throughout Fight Week.

CBS owned and operated television stations throughout the country have been actively engaged in coverage of the event since the March 11 kick-off press conference in Los Angeles. These affiliate stations, located in the nation’s top markets, will have access to all the news and footage of fight week through the distribution network of CBS Newspath.

CBS Sports Network will provide live Fight Week coverage from Las Vegas, including the official Weigh-In on Friday, May 1 (6 p.m. ET), as well as immediate reaction and analysis following the fight and the post-fight press conference. During the week leading up to the bout, the Network also will air encore presentations of classic Mayweather fights and INSIDE MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO episodes.

CBS Sports Digital has launched a landing page at CBSSports.com, a one-stop shop for everything Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. The ‘Tier 1’ support from CBS Sports Digital includes static homepage promotions, additional marketing and significant editorial coverage on all digital platforms, including breaking news, commentary and placement of live event streams.

CBS Radio is backing May 2 with stations from 10 of the country’s top markets broadcasting live from MGM Grand, including WFAN in New York, KROQ-FM in Los Angeles, KRLD-FM in Dallas and WIP-FM in Philadelphia. Additionally, CBS Sports Radio’s nationally syndicated “The Doug Gottlieb Show” and (Scott) “Ferrall On The Bench” will be in Las Vegas for Fight Week. “The Doug Gottlieb Show” is simulcast on CBS Sports Network on Friday, May 1.

CBS Radio coverage also includes a special broadcast hosted by WFAN’s No. 1 morning show personalities Boomer and Carton on Saturday prior to the fight from 6-8 p.m. ET. The program is available on WFAN, CBS Sports Radio, and select CBS Radio stations nationwide. The special also will be simulcast for television on CBS Sports Network.

CBS Local Digital Media has created a comprehensive array of online audio, video and editorial features to promote the fight which can be experienced across a variety of digital and mobile platforms.

#MayPac:Daily is a daily online show hosted by SHOWTIME Sports personality Mauro Ranallo. The series will deliver the buzz of Fight Week in Las Vegas with special guests from sports and entertainment, insider analysis and more. Taped live from the casino floor at MGM Grand, #MayPac:Daily will be posted nightly Tuesday-Friday on http://www.sho.com/sho/sports/home and Youtube.com/shosports.

Additionally, the SHOWTIME Sports digital team is working closely with SnapChat to deliver exclusive content, launching a new boxing blog on TUMBLR called Pound for Pound, and working with Twitter on a unique feature capturing the years of social conversation leading to #MayPac.

Classic Floyd Mayweather fights are being offered across the premium network’s portals, including nightly on SHOWTIME EXTREME, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND and SHOWTIME ANYTIME. Those platforms will also offer the media workouts of Mayweather and Pacquiao and the live stream of the final press conference. Fans can tune-in to the final stare-down between the fighters on Friday, May 1 when SHOWTIME airs WEIGH-IN LIVE: MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO.

SHOWTIME Sports also delivers a host of short-form content available across multiple platforms, including original music videos, Mayweather greatest hits, a Spanish web analysis and more.

Below is a sampling of select SHOWTIME programs and air times:
INSIDE MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO:
Episode 2 premieres Saturday, April 25, at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME.
Episode 3 premieres Wednesday, April 29 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME
Epilogue premieres Saturday, May 9
WEIGH-IN LIVE: MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO: Friday, May 1 at 6 ET/3 PT, live on SHOWTIME
COUNTDOWN LIVE: MAYWEATHER vs. PACQUIAO: Saturday, May 2 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, live on SHOWTIME

# # #

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD™, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, FLIX ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

LAS VEGAS (April 24, 2015) – There is just over one week until Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao square off for their epic welterweight championship showdown taking place Saturday, May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena that will be co-produced and co-distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT.

While fans have gotten glimpses into the lives of these fighters through preview shows and social media postings, there are still many aspects of their lives that the public knows nothing about. Before training camp ends and the fighters lace up for fight night, take a look at some interesting things that you might not know about Mayweather and Pacquiao.

FLOYD MAYWEATHER

1. Twizzlers are one of his go-to favorite snacks

2. Ramen noodle soup is one of his favorite meals and he doesn’t like 5 star restaurants

3. Averages over 1000 sit-ups a day during training camp

4. He doesn’t use ketchup or mustard on hotdogs but uses BBQ sauce

5. A guilty pleasure is playing Mega Touch and holding the highest scores in every game on there- his favorites are Spades, Dominos and word scrambles.

6. The movie Troy with Brad Pitt is one he likes to watch over and over again.

7. Every juice he drinks during training camp is made from scratch

8. When out to eat, He always orders a glass of hot water to let his silverware soak in the glass before using them.

9. The tree trunks he has been using to chop wood are brought in from Big Bear and weigh nearly 700 pounds each.

10. He gets a manicure and pedicure at home once a week during training camp

11. He doesn’t use a microwave, only eats food cooked and heated up on a stove and in an oven.

12. His morning routine includes brushing teeth for 10 straight minutes.

MANNY PACQUIAO

1 He eats steamed white rice and chicken or beef broth at almost every meal

2. Manny will only drink hot or room temperature water. Never cold water because he feels it is not healthy

3. Manny averages over 2,500 sit-ups daily during training camp

4. Manny eats five meals and consumes 8,000 calories daily to keep his weight and energy up

5. Manny regularly has 500 fans follow him on his morning runs in Los Angeles

6. He starts every morning with a Bible reading

7. He loves his Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups

8. Over the past 12 months Manny has met with President Obama, President Clinton and Prince Harry

9. Pacman, Manny’s nine-year-old Jack Russell terrier and beloved companion, accompanies Manny on all his morning runs and to his workouts at Wild Card. He even has his own frequent flier account

10. Manny is a Lt. Colonel in the reserve force of Philippine Army

11. Floyd Mayweather will be the third consecutive undefeated world champion Manny has faced in the past 13 months

12. Manny is a big photography buff. This week he purchased two Canon flagship cameras – the 1DX — complete with lenses and accessories.

* * *

Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is a 12-round welterweight world championship unification bout promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Inc., and is sponsored by Tecate con caracter, Paramount Pictures and Skydance Productions –Terminator Genisys, in theaters July 1st, Paramount Pictures & Skydance Productions present MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION, in theaters & IMAX July 31st, The Weinstein Company and the new movie Southpaw, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, in theaters everywhere July 24 and Mexico, Live it to Believe it.

For more information visit www.mayweatherpromotions.com, www.toprank.com, www.SHO.com/Sports,www.hbo.com/boxing and www.mgmgrand.com and follow on Twitter at @floydmayweather, @MannyPacquiao @mayweatherpromo, @TRBoxing, @SHOSports, @HBOboxing and @Swanson_Comm, and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FloydMayweather, www.facebook.com/TopRankMannyPacquiao www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions, www.facebook.com/TRBoxing, www.facebook.com/SHOsports andwww.facebook.com/HBOBoxing.

PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania, April 24, 2015- North Philly’s Own Cheesesteaks, Sumo Steaks, is proud to announce that their friends, fellow North Philadelphians, and big-hearted local community role models, Bryant Jennings and Jesse Hart, will both soon be making major career defining strides. Bryant Jennings will be fighting for the World Heavyweight Championship and Jesse Hart will be fighting on the undercard of the most anticipated Fight of the Century, Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas.

Bryant Jennings enjoying a Sumo (Vegetarian Seitan) Cheesesteak

This Saturday, April 25th, Philadelphia’s own undefeated American boxer, Bryant “By-By” Jennings, (19-0, 10 KOs) takes on Wladimir “Dr. Steelhammer” Klitschko (63-3, 54 KOs) from Kiev, Ukraine at the famed Madison Square Garden. Jennings will be joined by the legendary trainer Fred Jenkins and promoter Gary Shaw. “Bryant is very focused with a strong work ethic. We believe he’s going to upset Klitschko and are looking forward to “By-By” bringing the World Heavyweight Championship belts back to Philadelphia.” said Billy Creagh of Sumo Steaks.

Jesse Hart (left); Sumo Steaks owner Billy Creagh and Eugene “Cyclone” Hart

Sumo Steaks is equally excited for Jesse Hart (16-0,13 KOs) and D&D Management Team (Doc Nowicki & David Price) who will be fighting Mike Jimenez (17-0,11 KOs) from Chicago IL, on the biggest boxing card in history, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. They will come together on May 2nd, in Las Vegas, NV. at the MGM Grand for the USBA Super Middleweight Title. He will be joined by his cornermen, Fred Jenkins Sr, Danny Davis, Corey AKA Hundew MacDonald and Jesse’s father, Eugene “Cyclone” Hart, along with his promoter Top Rank’s Bob Arum.

Coincidentally In 1971, North Philadelphia’s Joe Frazier beat Muhammad Ali and won the World Heavyweight Championship at Madison Square Garden in which was called “the Fight of the Century.” It was so big the ring announcer said, “Ladies and Gentlemen, we are not going to introduce the celebrities at ringside tonight, because everybody is here tonight.”

Located in North Philadelphia, home to boxing champions, Bernard Hopkins, Danny Garcia and the late Joe Frazier, Sumo Steaks opened in 2013 and was recently voted top Cheesesteak in Philly. They have been fortunate to get to know both Jesse and Bryant and their teams through various charity events and other activities. Sumo Steaks is also a proud sponsor of boxing events in Philadelphia. For more information, go to sumosteaks.com.

By Norm Frauenheim

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been more CEO than TBE from the moment he took the initiative and approached Manny Pacquiao at a Miami Heat game in the move that led to the deal for their May 2 fight at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

He’s effective in the CEO role. Likable, too. His exchanges with the media are crisp, forthright and polite. The understated manner is a hint at the calculated, precise tactician he will be at opening bell for what is sure to be the richest fight ever.

He has repeatedly referred to the long-awaited showdown with Pacquiao as just another fight. A job, he calls it.

“I know it’s the biggest fight in boxing history, but I can’t approach it like that,” Mayweather said Wednesday during a conference call. “I’m never going to put any unnecessary pressure on myself.’’

Cool, that makes sense.

Simplicity is an art necessary to any successful battle plan. But here’s the question: Why TBE? Why now?

Mayweather has called himself The Best Ever for a long time, but the claim has been restricted to the TBE acronym seen so often on caps and T-shirts. But now he has decided to re-exert his claim on being history’s best, first in an interview with ESPN’s Stephen A Smith and again Wednesday in a call with reporters from across world.

His comments Wednesday weren’t quite as strong as they were to ESPN. He told Smith he was better than Ali and Sugar Ray Robinson, who is No. 1 in most all-time pound-for-pound ratings. On Wednesday he was asked only about Ali and he talked only about Ali.

“He called himself The Greatest and I call myself TBE,” Mayweather said. “I’m pretty sure I’ll get criticized for what I said, but I could care less. I could care less about the backlash.”

The mystery is why Mayweather would invite the inevitable backlash within a couple of weeks of a fight that, more than any other, will define his place alongside Ali, Robinson and those he didn’t mention. With apologies to all of the legends not mentioned, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, Joe Louis and Julio Cesar Chavez belong in the argument, too.

History didn’t have to be part of the job description, at least not in the way the CEO in Mayweather defined it. But the TBE in him put it there without apology. It also put him at risk of the unnecessary pressure he seeks to avoid.

Perhaps, Mayweather will prove he is as good at making history as he is at making money. Maybe, he knocks out Pacquiao. Maybe, he gets up from a knockdown to score a dramatic victory. Maybe, maybe. But maybe it goes the other way. Maybe, TBE will come to mean Pacquiao.

Most of the pressure is already on Mayweather. He’ll get 60 percent of record-setting revenue, which for him figures to be anywhere from $80 million to a $180 million. He’s also undefeated, which over the years has generated a lot of amateur psychoanalysis. The 0 in that 47-0 record has become a symbol of what motivates Mayweather. The theory is that he protects it at all costs. It’s become his identity.

A loss, former heavyweight champ George Foreman said Thursday in a conference call, “could devastate him as a boxer — not as a man, but as a boxer. He might have to go out in the country somewhere if he lost.’’

Foreman suffered his first loss to Ali in Zaire. He was 40-0 before Ali beat him in The Rumble In The Jungle in 1974. It was a loss that altered the way Foreman looked at himself. It was 15 months before he could step through the ropes again.

“I’m the one guy who knows what it’s like to be undefeated going into a fight like that and to be knocked off that pedestal,” said Foreman, who will appear Saturday night in HBO’s “Mayweather/Pacquiao: The Legends Speak.’’

Ali had already endured defeat. He understood it. Learned from it. Came back from it. In a sport defined by adversity, defeat can forge newfound strength. At 57-5, Pacquiao has experienced it. Mayweather has not.

“Pacquiao has it a little better,’’ said Foreman, who picks the Filipino to win a narrow decision. “He is already picked as the underdog. There’s not a whole lot of pressure on him.

“But when you have never lost before in a fight of this magnitude, there’s so much pressure on you, more pressure than you have ever had before, more pressure than on any other athlete right now.’’

Too much pressure? The CEO says no. But TBE? Proof of Mayweather’s bold claim is still waiting To Be Evaluated on May 2.

· SportsCenter, First Take, SportsNation, ESPN Radio’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Sirius XM’s Stephen A. Smith Show, ESPN Radio LA710 Max & Marcellus in Las Vegas

· Coverage from Las Vegas on ESPN Deportes’ News and Information Platforms, Semana de Campeones

· “All-Access” Specials

· Special Thursday edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights, Noche de Combates

· Pre- and post-fight Analysis, Stories on ESPN.com, ESPN Deportes.com, ESPN The Magazine

MicESPN will present extensive pre- and post-fight coverage across its platforms in English and Spanish of the much- anticipated 12-round welterweight unification title fight between undefeated five-division world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) and eight-division world champion Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs). ESPN’s week-long coverage will begin with SportsCenter live from Las Vegas this Sunday, April 26, at 11 p.m. ET, and culminate with live post-fight coverage and reactions immediately following the bout. In addition, ESPN International will present coverage across its networks in Latin America, Brazil, the Caribbean and Pacific Rim and globally on ESPN.com and other digital media platforms. The fight, from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, will take place on Saturday, May 2.

Highlights:

Television

SportsCenter
ESPN’s Hannah Storm, Lindsay Czarniak, Stan Verrett, Neil Everett, Steve Levy, Jay Harris, Max Bretos, Robert Flores, and Joe Tessitore will anchor live coverage from Las Vegas throughout fight week, while ESPN boxing analysts Teddy Atlas and Dan Rafael will provide expert insights and analyses. Hall of Fame referee and ESPN analyst Joe Cortez, PTI co-host Michael Wilbon, First Take’s Stephen A. Smith, SportsCenter anchor Kenny Mayne, SportsCenter fan correspondent Reese Waters, ESPN NBA analysts Tim Legler and Chauncey Billups will also contribute to coverage. Reporters Josina Anderson, Bernardo Osuna, and Jeremy Schaap will be on site providing live reports with Osuna covering Pacquiao’s camp and Schaap covering Mayweather’s camp. Additionally, former world champion Bernard Hopkins will serve as a special guest analyst. Celebrity guests will also join SportsCenter throughout the week to pick their winner between Mayweather and Pacquiao.

SportsCenter will originate from various locations, including Drai’s Beach Club, the MGM Grand main pool, MGM Grand Garden Arena, MGM Grand Theatre and MGM Grand Media Tent for pre and post-fight coverage. As part of the “SportsCenter on the Road” initiative, live shows will also come via the “SportsCenter on the Road” bus at the Caesars Palace pool, and Mandalay Bay wave beach pool. The actual boxing ring where Muhammad Ali and Larry Holmes fought on October 2, 1980 will be used as part of SportsCenter’s set at the Caesars Palace pool with the SportsCenter desk inside the ring.

SportsCenter throughout the week will include:
· “All-access” pieces with both fighters;

· Taped boxing demonstrations with Atlas, in which he demonstrates what each fighter needs to do to win;

· Taped “Inside the Ring” demonstrations with Cortez. Cortez will provide demonstrations from the referee’s perspective.

· Roundtable discussions including various guests.

SportsCenter Specials will include:
· SportsCenter Special Mayweather-Pacquiao presented by Cricket Wireless- A preview show covering the arrival of Pacquiao and his caravan (Monday, April 27, 8 p.m., ESPN2);

· SportsCenter Special Mayweather-Pacquiao presented by Cricket Wireless – A preview show covering the fighters Grand Arrivals (Tuesday, April 28, 8 p.m., ESPN);

· SportsCenter Special–Mayweather-Pacquiao Press Conference presented by Cricket Wireless live (Wednesday, April 29, 4 p.m., ESPN);

· SportsCenter Special–Mayweather-Pacquiao Weigh-In presented by Cricket Wireless live (Friday, May 1, 5 p.m., ESPN2);

· SportsCenter Special–Mayweather/Pacquiao Red Carpet presented by Cricket Wireless live (Saturday, May 2, 8 p.m., ESPN);

· SportsCenter Special–Mayweather/Pacquiao post-match presented by Cricket Wireless live (Saturday, May 2, approx. 12 a.m., ESPN).

#MayweatherWins and #PacquiaoWins
The @SportsCenter Twitter handle will conduct a week-long vote using the hashtags #MayweatherWins and #PacquiaoWins. The winner of the fight, as voted on by the fans, will be revealed late in the week on SportsCenter with a special performance from KÀ by Cirque du Soleil.

Outside the Lines
The April 24 edition of Outside the Lines (2 p.m., ESPN) will feature a story detailing Mayweather’s history with domestic violence and the reaction through the years by boxing officials.

All-Access Specials
· Mayweather: Behind the Scenes: A 30-minute show created from the seven-plus hours that ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith spent with Mayweather at his home that gives viewers access to Mayweather’s training camp.

Wednesday, April 29—ESPN2
8 p.m. – Mayweather: Behind the Scenes

Thursday, April 30—ESPN2
8:30 p.m. – Mayweather: Behind the Scenes

Saturday, May 2—ESPN2
6:30 a.m. – Mayweather: Behind the Scenes

8 a.m. – Mayweather: Behind the Scenes
10 a.m. – Mayweather: Behind the Scenes

Saturday, May 2—ABC
4 p.m. Mayweather: Behind the Scenes

· Inside Mayweather/Pacquaio: Three, 30-minute SHOWTIME produced shows will air on ESPN2 throughout fight week.

Wednesday, April 29—ESPN2
8:30 p.m. – Inside Mayweather/Pacquiao (Episode #1)
9 p.m. – Inside Mayweather/Pacquiao (Episode #2)

Thursday, April 30—ESPN2
8 p.m. – Inside Mayweather/Pacquiao (Episode #3)

Saturday, May 2—ESPN2
8:30 a.m. – Inside Mayweather/Pacquiao (Episodes #1 through #3)
10:30 a.m. – Inside Mayweather/Pacquiao (Episodes #1 through #3)

First Take
ESPN2’s two-hour weekday morning live debate show, First Take (10 a.m-12 p.m.) will emanate poolside from the MGM Grand Wednesday—Friday. Host Cari Champion, and featured commentators Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless will debate Mayweather-Pacquiao and more. In addition, a First Take Special: Mayweather/Pacquiao show will air in prime time on Wednesday April 29, at 9:30 p.m. on ESPN2. Celebrity guests throughout the week are scheduled to include Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx and 50 Cent.

SportsNation
ESPN2’ s SportsNation (weekdays 3-4 p.m.) with Michelle Beadle, Max Kellerman and Marcellus Wiley, will originate poolside from the MGM Grand Wednesday—Friday. The show will welcome celebrity guests and local Vegas acts as well as feature boxing-themed stunts throughout the show.

Special Thursday Edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights and Noche de Combates
Two days before Mayweather-Pacquiao, a special Thursday edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra and Noche de Combates presentado por Corona Extra will air live April 30, at 9 p.m. on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and via WatchESPN. The show, from the Pearl Theatre at Palms Casino Resort, will be headlined by former world titleholder Ishe “Sugar Shay” Smith (26-7, 12 KOs) taking on Cecil McCalla (20-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-round junior middleweight bout.

Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will describe the action on ESPN2, while studio host Todd Grisham will be on site providing the latest news on Mayweather-Pacquiao. Pablo Viruega and Delvin Rodríguez will call the fights ringside for Noche de Combates on ESPN Deportes, while Leopoldo González and Claudia Trejos will co-anchor the studio on site. Bilingual reporter Bernardo Osuna will provide live interviews and reports for both shows.

ESPN Classic Boxing Marathon

ESPN Classic will present 26 hours of historic boxing matches, including Mayweather’s first professional fight (televised on Friday Night Fights), beginning Friday, May 1, at 7 p.m.

ESPN Deportes
ESPN’s Spanish-language network, ESPN Deportes, will have extensive news and information coverage throughout fight week from Las Vegas on SportsCenter, Nación ESPN, Cronómetro and more. ESPN Deportes’ David Faitelson, Claudia Trejos, Jorge Eduardo Sanchez, Karina Correa, Alba Galindo, Renato Bermudez, Alvaro Morales, Mauricio Pedroza, Bernardo Osuna, Carlos Nava, Julio Cesar Chavez, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Joe Cortez will be on site providing all the latest news, insight and analysis. Shows will all originate from the MGM Grand with satellite components from around Las Vegas. The network is set to offer approximately 80 hours of programming beginning Sunday, April 26.

Show highlights for the week include:
· Semana de Campeones (Week of Champions) shows every night throughout fight week:

o Monday-Wednesday’s one-hour shows will air at 10 p.m. on ESPN Deportes;

o Thursday’s Semana de Campeones telecast (8 p.m., ESPN Deportes) will lead in to the special edition of Noche de Combates (9 p.m. ESPN Deportes);

o Friday’s live, two-hour Semana de Campeones show (5:30 p.m., ESPN Deportes), from the MGM Grand Garden Arena will cover the official weigh-in;

o Saturday’s live, one-hour Semana de Campeones shows, from the Media Center at the MGM Grand Arena, will air prior to the fight (8 p.m., ESPN Deportes) and following the fight ( 2 a.m., ESPN Deportes). Leading up to the pre-show special, live segments and hourly updates will begin at 3 p.m.

Radio

The Herd with Colin Cowherd
ESPN Radio’s The Herd with Colin Cowherd (weekdays, 10 a.m.–1 p.m., ESPN Radio, the ESPN Radio app, espnradio.com, SiriusXM, iTunes Radio, Slacker, TuneIn and simulcast on ESPNU) will broadcast poolside from Mandalay Bay Wednesday-Friday.

The Stephen A. Smith Show and Red Carpet Special with Stephen A. Smith
SirusXM’s The Stephen A. Smith Show (weekdays, 1–3 p.m.)—produced by ESPN—will broadcast live from radio row at the MGM Grand Wednesday—Friday. In addition, Smith will host an afternoon Red Carpet Special that will be broadcast nationally on ESPN Radio from the MGM Grand lobby on Saturday from 12-3 p.m.

Max & Marcellus
ESPN Radio LA710 Max & Marcellus (weekdays 5:45 p.m.–10 p.m./ 2:45 p.m.–7 p.m. PT) with Max Kellerman and Marcellus Wiley will broadcast live from radio row at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas Wednesday—Friday.

Digital and Print

ESPN3
Coverage of the press conference on Wednesday, April 29, at 4 p.m., and weigh-in on Friday, May 1, at 6 p.m., will be live on ESPN3 via WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One to fans who receive their Internet or video subscription from an affiliated provider.

ESPN.com and ESPNDeportes.com

Highlights:

· Comprehensive coverage, including pre- and post-fight features, videos, blogs and predictions from ESPN’s Dan Rafael, Brian Campbell, Ray Flores, Tim Keown, Brett Okamoto, Darren Rovell, Pablo Torre, Nigel Collins, Rafe Bartholomew, Charles Pierce, Wally Matthews and ESPN Deportes’ Carlos Nava, Salvador Rodriguez, Carlos Narvaez and Joe Cortez;

· “Fight Credential,” ESPN.com’s home page for all Mayweather-Pacquiao coverage, will be updated with features, video, photos and social media from all platforms throughout the week and through the fight.

· Blog dedicated to the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout with contributions from Rafael, Rovell and others;

· Special edition of ESPN.com’s original boxing show Making the Rounds, featuring a combination of ESPN, HBO and SHOWTIME talent;

· Career timelines, which include photo galleries of both Mayweather and Pacquiao;

· Story with opponents who have fought both Mayweather and Pacquiao;

· Live fight coverage, featuring commentary from Rafael, Campbell and Okamoto and Rafael’s unofficial scorecard, on ESPN.com’s “Now” feed;

· Stories highlighting the referee of the fight as well as the judges;

· ESPN Deportes.com dedicated microsite specific to the Mayweather-Pacquiao title bout;

· Daily Mayweather-Pacquiao features on ESPNDeportes.com;

Other highlights include:
· In-depth feature on Pacquiao as an entertainer by Torre;

· A look at the 10 most-anticipated fights in boxing history by Collins;

· Animated gifs, done in “Street Fighter” style, showing possible Mayweather-Pacquiao outcomes.

The Undefeated: Pacquiao vs. Mayweather – Life After Death
Amid the glitz surrounding Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, “The Undefeated” – ESPN’s new site on race, sports and urban culture – critically examines the fight and its place in boxing history. Written by Brando Starkey with reporting by Justin Tinsley, the opinion-forming piece will post on www.espn.com on Tuesday, April 28, a foretaste of the in-depth journalism that will be “The Undefeated’s” calling card.

Highlights:
· Are Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather boxing’s defibrillators, last-gasp instruments trying to shock life into the long-dead sport of boxing?;

· An in-depth examination of why boxing collapsed;

· Boxing began its downfall during the first onslaught of integration – a sport that has always been for the desperate and the poor had its talent pipeline gutted in the early 1970s when mainstream colleges began pervasively recruiting poor black kids to play football and basketball;

· Posits that Pacquiao-Mayweather is another boxing gimmick, no different from 45-year-old Foreman and post-prison Tyson, preying on the nostalgia of fight fans;

· At 36 and 38 years of age, Pacquiao and Mayweather, respectively, are both well past their primes. This is the movie Grudge Match, a marketing blitz, and with neither fighter on the same level as the all-time greats of yesteryears.

ESPN The Magazine
ESPN The Magazine’s “Fight for Perfection” Issue, scheduled to hit newsstands Friday, May 1, features Floyd Mayweather on the cover, accompanied by a profile written by Tim Keown. The third installment of the Keown on Mayweather series in The Mag [following the Money Issue in 2012 and the Fight Issue in 2013], will focus on Mayweather’s controversial “antics.” The feature, slated to run on ESPN.com Wednesday, April 29 also includes an overall preview of his May 2 bout versus Manny Pacquiao. In addition, the issue will provide an all-access photo story of Pacquiao written by The Mag’s Pablo Torre.

truTV and Top Rank will partner to exclusively present the MetroPCS Friday Night Knockout on truTV, a live primetime boxing series set to debut Friday, May 1, at 10 p.m. ET. The new boxing series, in association with Turner Sports and HBO Sports, will launch on the eve of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao pay-per-view fight with a card featuring two title bouts inside The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

The network’s presentation will feature the first-ever domestic use of “Spidercam” technology for a live boxing telecast, providing dynamic coverage of this new series. “Spidercam” operates on a four-point system of cables from designated points beyond the corners of the boxing ring. The suspended camera has the ability to provide compelling 360-degree angles of the action including the ability to move in three dimensions – left/right, forward/backward and up/down.

“Spidercam” will provide the definitive views of the action throughout the series, including a main event on Friday, May 1, showcasing Takahiro Ao (27-3-1, 16 KOs) from Chiba, Japan, vs. Ray Beltran (29-7-1, 17 KOs) from Los Mochis, Mexico, in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBO Lightweight World Championship. The undercard will include two undefeated fighters in action – Mikael Zewski (26-0, 23 KOs) from Quebec, Canada, vs. Konstantin Ponomarev (27-0, 13 KOs) from Miass, Russia – in a 10-round bout for the NABF Welterweight Championship.

Commentators for the event will include Kevin Kugler providing play-by-play with analyst Timothy Bradley and reporter Crystina Poncher. Kugler is a veteran announcer who has called college basketball and NFL coverage for Westwood One and college football for the Big Ten Network. Bradley is a former WBO welterweight champion and former WBO and two-time WBC junior welterweight champion, including a win over Pacquiao during his career. Poncher is a commentator and reporter for Top Rank, as well as a host, reporter and correspondent for NFL Network and NFL.com. Additionally, closed captioning in Spanish will be available.

The second week of the MetroPCS Friday Night Knockout on truTV series – live from Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on Friday, May 8, at 10 p.m. – will be headlined by Top-10 contenders Glen “Jersey Boy” Tapia (23-1, 15 KOs) from Passaic, N.J., and “Irish” Seanie Monaghan (23-0, 15 KOs) in action. Tapia will defend his NABO junior middleweight title against Michael Soro (25-1-1, 15 KOs) from France, with Monaghan (defending his WBC Continental Americas light heavyweight title) facing Cleiton Conceicao (20-6-2, 16 KOs) from Brazil.

As part of its entitlement sponsorship of the boxing series on truTV, MetroPCS will receive camera-visible center ring and corner pad brand placement for each fight, as well as inclusion in all promotional messaging across truTV and other Turner Broadcasting networks. Sony PlayStation also joins as an associate sponsor of the series, with in-ring signage and inclusion in promotional spots.

Visit the Turner Sports online pressroom for additional press materials; follow Turner Sports on Twitter at @TurnerSportsPR.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. (April 23, 2015) – Fighter of the Decade, eight-division world champion and boxing superhero CONGRESSMAN MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO made another memorable guest shot on Wednesday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! It was the ninth time Manny had been on Kimmel’s popular late-night talk show — more than any other active fighter — in their series of entertaining appearances together dating back to November 3, 2009 (the week before Manny’s knocked out defending WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto for his seventh of eight division world titles).

After being “counseled” by Dr. Phil during Kimmel’s monologue, Manny sat down with the popular talk show host for his interview segment. After discussing Manny’s upcoming eagerly-anticipated May 2 welterweight world championship unification battle against undefeated FLOYD “Money” MAYWEATHER JR., Kimmel lobbied Manny to not only be part of his ring walk entourage, but to sing the reigning two-time WBO welterweight world champion’s recently-recorded song “Lalaban Ako Para Sa Pilipino” (“I Will Fight For The Filipino.”) Manny, who directed the music video, also recorded the song — which is taking the world by storm — for his ring entrance. While Manny pondered the request Kimmel gave the champ an impromptu audition that either sealed or killed the deal, depending on your perspective. Manny even joined in for a duet. Finally, to sweeten the deal, Kimmel offered to fight Justin Bieber! It should be noted that Manny has never lost a fight when he has sung during a pre-fight appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! – something that has been dutifully noted by the Nevada sports books which have seen more and more money wagered on a Manny victory since last night’s show.

The following links will take you to Manny’s segments from last night’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Kimmel’s debut singing of “Lalaban Ako Para Sa Pilipino” and Manny’s self-directed music video:

· Dr. Phil Counsels Manny https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5N-hb7Ix8dk
· Kimmel Asks to Be in Manny’s Entourage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IKv_0PdBIXY
· Kimmel Sings “Lalaban Ako Para Sa Pilipino” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WdyJT0hd0k
· Manny’s Music Video http://youtu.be/uR-3_EwKT2k

******************

Manny’s debut on Jimmy Kimmel Live! unveiled his singing chops, where he belted out a rendition of the Dan Hill-penned hit ballad “Sometimes When We Touch.” Manny and Hill collaborated on a remake which also became a hit. Subsequent appearances featured Pacquiao singing duets with Kimmel and Will Ferrell, and an uproarious send-up of HBO Sports’ “24/7” reality franchise, starring Pacquiao and Kimmel sidekick Guillermo. (This link will take you to Manny’s surprise appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! following the March 11 Los Angeles press conference that announced the “Fight of the Century” between Manny and Mayweather. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ft5j-zZzw&feature=youtu.be.)

That 2009 appearance also marked Manny’s U.S. network TV debut, which has since led to a multitude of network television, radio and magazine features for the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight world champion, including, CBS’ 60 Minutes, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, ABC’s Nightline, FOX News Channel’s On The Record With Greta Van Susteren, CNN’s America Morning, NPR’s Morning Edition and Weekend Edition, Rollingstone, New York, The New Yorker, Playboy, Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine and cover stories in TIME and Newsweek.

Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative of the Sarangani province in the Philippines, is in deep training for the eagerly-anticipated May 2 welterweight world championship unification battle against undefeated Mayweather(47-0, 26 KOs), a native of Grand Rapids, Mich., who now fight out of Las Vegas, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Inc., the Mayweather-Pacquiao live pay-per-view telecast will be co-produced and co-distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

# # #

For more information visit: www.mayweatherpromotions.com, www.toprank.com, www.hbo.com/boxing, www.SHO.com/Sports, and www.mgmgrand.com and follow on Twitter at @floydmayweather, @MannyPacquiao, @mayweatherpromo, @TRBoxing, @HBOboxing, @SHOSports, and @Swanson_Comm, and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FloydMayweather, www.facebook.com/TopRankMannyPacquiao www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions, www.facebook.com/TRBoxing, www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOsports.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, after weeks of specualtion, tickets will goo on sale on Thursday for the mega showdown between Floyd Mayweather and May Pacquiao that will take place on May 2 in Las Vegas.

“It was a battle but finally everybody came together,” Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, told ESPN.com on Wednesday night.

“Then they finally sent over a draft reflecting the deal we had agreed to, and it was absolutely 100 percent what we had agreed to,” Arum said. “But it didn’t come over until 6 p.m. [PT], and by 7 p.m. we had reviewed everything and signed.”

Tickets for the MGM Grand Garden Arena are priced at $7,500, $5,000, $3,500, $2,500 and $1,500, not including applicable service charges, and will go on sale at 3 p.m. ET Thursday via Ticketmaster. They are limited to four per household. There are $10,000 tickets, but they are not among the roughly 500 tickets being made available to the public out of the roughly 16,000 tickets.

“This has been a very complex event, and we are pleased to have resolved the outstanding issues,” said Richard Sturm, president of entertainment and sports for MGM Resorts International. “We look forward to delivering an incredible event weekend, like only Las Vegas can.”

“We were resolute that we were going to hold on to everything we had negotiated with Mayweather Promotions and they weren’t going to use the relationship with MGM to deprive us of our rights,” Arum said. “Ultimately, that’s how the deal was made. We protected Manny and ourselves, and we weren’t asking for anything we didn’t negotiate. We had a deal with Mayweather Promotions, and then they used the MGM to try to erode our rights. And we stood steadfast and we wouldn’t let that happen, and finally we made a deal, a correct deal, and the fight is going ahead. It’s as simple as that.

“We weren’t going to allow anyone to push us around. We didn’t want more than we were entitled to or want anything extra. We wanted everyone to live up to the deal we made. I have to really commend my guys for standing firm, and I want to thank Les Moonves for being a rational person and poised through this whole thing and for not letting us be pushed around.”

Los Angeles, CA (April 22, 2015) – In less than two weeks, Sid El Harrak will have the chance to change his life and boxing career when he faces undefeated Chris Pearson as part of the historic Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

To prepare for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, El Harrak’s dedicated all of his time to various aspects of training. From cardio to strength and conditioning, sharpening his skills in the gym and intense sparring sessions, the California based Londoner is covering everything imaginable. Most importantly, he believes the grueling training sessions he’s gone through at both Wild Card Boxing Gym locations is already paying off.

“It’s very important to have an ample amount of time to train for a fight and that’s not something I’ve had my whole career,” said El Harrak, who is 12-2-2 with 7 wins by knockout. “Mentally, I feel 100 percent ready to go out there and shine in the biggest fight of my life. I’m still working hard to balance everything out so the world sees the best Sid El Harrak next Saturday.”

He also loves being considered the underdog against the 11-0 and heavily hyped Pearson.

“I have a lot of pride and knowing that I’m coming into this fight as the B-side pushes me that much more. I love the fact that Pearson’s supposed to be “the guy” in this fight. If I fought who he did, I’d be undefeated. At the same time, had he faced the opponents I did under the same circumstances, he’d have a few losses. To be honest, I’m sick of thinking about him. This is the most eager I’ve been for a fight in my career and I can’t wait to show everybody what I can do on May 2nd!”

The El Harrak-Pearson ten round junior middleweight bout will be televised on various networks throughout the world.

HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. (April 22, 2015) – Fighter of the Decade, eight-division world champion and boxing superhero CONGRESSMAN MANNY “Pacman” PACQUIAO will make yet another guest shot on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Tonight! Wednesday, April 22, on ABC, beginning at 11:35 P.M. ET / 10:35 P.M. CT. This will mark the ninth time Pacquiao has appeared on Kimmel’s popular late-night talk show — more than any other active fighter — in their series of entertaining appearances together dating back to November 3, 2009 (the week before Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto). It was on that night that Pacquiao unveiled his singing chops, belting out a rendition of the Dan Hill-penned hit ballad “Sometimes When We Touch.” Manny and Hill collaborated on a remake which also became a hit. Subsequent appearances featured Pacquiao singing duets with Kimmel and Will Ferrell, and an uproarious send-up of HBO Sports’ “24/7” reality franchise, starring Pacquiao and Kimmel sidekick Guillermo. (This link will take you to Manny’s surprise appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! following the March 11 Los Angeles press conference that announced the “Fight of the Century” between Manny and Floyd Mayweather Jr. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79ft5j-zZzw&feature=youtu.be.)

That 2009 appearance also marked Manny’s U.S. network TV debut, which has since led to a multitude of network television, radio and magazine features for the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight world champion, including, CBS’ 60 Minutes, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN’s Piers Morgan Tonight, ABC’s Nightline, FOX News Channel’s On The Record With Greta Van Susteren, CNN’s America Morning, NPR’s Morning Edition and Weekend Edition, Rollingstone, New York magazine, The New Yorker, Playboy, Sports Illustrated, ESPN The Magazine and cover stories in TIME and Newsweek.

Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs), the lone congressional representative of the Sarangani province in the Philippines, is in deep training for the eagerly-anticipated May 2 welterweight world championship unification battle against undefeated FLOYD “Money” MAYWEATHER JR. (47-0, 26 KOs), at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Inc., the Mayweather-Pacquiao live pay-per-view telecast will be co-produced and co-distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and SHOWTIME PPV® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

# # #

For more information visit: www.mayweatherpromotions.com, www.toprank.com, www.hbo.com/boxing, www.SHO.com/Sports, and www.mgmgrand.com and follow on Twitter at @floydmayweather, @MannyPacquiao, @mayweatherpromo, @TRBoxing, @HBOboxing, @SHOSports, and @Swanson_Comm, and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FloydMayweather, www.facebook.com/TopRankMannyPacquiao www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotions, www.facebook.com/TRBoxing, www.facebook.com/HBOBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOsports.

Photos by Chris Farina / Top Rank

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Kenny Bayless has been assigned to referee the mega showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

The judges, who will be under intense scrutiny as the eyes of the sports world will be on their scorecards should the fight go all 12 rounds, were also unanimously approved: Burt Clements and Dave Moretti, both of Las Vegas, and Glenn Feldman of Connecticut.

“We looked at a litany of judges from around the world and we narrowed it down,” Bob Bennett, the NSAC executive director, told the commission when offering his