Mayweather v Pacquiao: The best of the build-up so far

This weekend will see all manner of boxing records broken as Floyd Mayweather Jr puts his undefeated record on the line against eight-weight world champion Manny Pacquiao.

With tickets selling out in 60 seconds and for thousands – if not hundreds of thousands of dollars – the promotional teams behind Money and the PacMan have had little to do in order to drum up interest.

That hasn’t stopped the bout gaining a mountain of media attention though and with each day that passes the number of column inches and social media coverage the bout gains increases.

Here’s just a small collection of some of the best bits of the build-up so far…

For one reason or another the two pound-for-pound kings of the ring had avoided each other for years. Many boxing fans had given up hope of the all-star clash altogether until a chance (or so we’re told) meeting at a Miami Heat game where heated preliminary discussions began and got the world talking …

A few weeks later and with the fight announced and set for May 2nd the comparisons started in earnest with ESPN showing clearly who is expected to be the busier fighter on the night…  

While Pacquiao throws just over the average number of punches per round, Mayweather is significantly below. #MayPac pic.twitter.com/en0ttgVDv5 — ESPN (@espn) April 27, 2015

Floyd Mayweather is the king of self promotion and his rise to fame is well documented. However, Pacquiao – despite his pop star and political aspirations in the Philippines – cuts a relatively low-key figure and little is known of his humble beginnings.

All this made the Daily Mail’s publication of the boxer as a teen in Manila all the more intriguing…

Pac in Pics: See a 17-year-old Manny in the gym when fights like #MayPac were just a dream https://t.co/571HljFKo2 pic.twitter.com/ILoGjttsIv

— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) April 28, 2015

Despite the huge build-up the fight was only recently given official status with a host of last minute legal wrangling taking place. This left many boxing fans confused and Pacquiao was also a little in the dark – as this tongue-in-cheek Foot Locker commercial attests.

The fight has generated a lot of celebrity interest with many big names looking to put a wager on the winner. This gentleman’s bet between rapper P Diddy and Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg may seem like a heavily-produced water commercial but with $250,000 on the line both men will be willing their man to win in Las Vegas.

Both men fall into the background as far as betting is concerned, however, with one-time Mayweather friend and rival boxing promoter 50 Cent going all out to back Pretty Boy Floyd.

They may have had their differences in the past but the G Unit rapper sees only one outcome and told New York radio station Power 105 that he’ll be putting a whopping $1.6m on his fellow American to retain his unbeaten record.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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