SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Boxing greats Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will finally square off.
In the ring this time, not just on social media.
Mayweather made the announcement on the photo-sharing platform Shots. He posted a photo of the signed contract with the caption:
“What the world has been waiting for has arrived. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao on May 2, 2015, is a done deal. I promised the fans we would get this done, and we did. We will make history on May 2nd. Don’t miss it! This is the signed contract from both fighters.”
The two will try to unify their welterweight world titles at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on May 2.
The deal had been done for a couple of days with both sides having signed the paperwork, according to ESPN. Contracts were also signed by broadcasters HBO and Showtime for a joint pay-per-view venture.
“It’s hasn’t been easy but I think in some strange way the inability to get the fight done before now enhances its value and this is one event that the public all over the world has been talking about and discussing for years,” Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told ESPN.com. “The interest in the fight will be absolutely red-hot. I’ve been promoting boxing for nearly 50 years and there is nothing that has come close to this because there has been nothing that has been so difficult to come to fruition. As interest is concerned, this akin to the first (Muhammad) Ali-(Joe) Frazier fight.
“You have to be grateful that this is finally happening. You can’t bemoan the false starts and the inability to do this before. It’s here now.”
The fight between the 36-year-old Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) and 38-year-old “Money” Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs), is expected to knock out all revenue records in boxing history.
Will you watch? Who are you rooting for?