Million Dollar Championship Belt For Fight Of The Century Revealed

With all the talk in the past year about Pacquiao and Mayweather, we’re finally getting closer to fight night. This highly anticipated match up is said to be the most expensive fight in history. As we get closer to witnessing history on May 2nd the World Boxing Council revealed some very exiting news for boxing fans and sports enthusiasts. The WBC has decided to create a brand new championship belt for the winner. The president of the WBC and his marketing team were urging fans to vote on two different designs for their belt. The two belts were made of different themes and colours. One WBC belt was designed with an “Onyx” theme while the other belt was an “emerald” theme. Both belts were said to be worth nearly $1 million dollars as each belt was forged of fine leather and rare materials. This treasured belt is an added bonus to the winner of the fight which Mayweather is expected to take home $180 million and Pacquiao expected to receive $120 million. With much at stake for both contenders, the president of the WBC thought it was appropriate to award the winner of the match with a new memorable and ornamented belt. Being that both contenders come from a very extensive background in boxing, this fight is a historical moment as Pacquiao and Mayweather are possibly the best fighters of all time to have come this far in their careers.

“It came in a good moment and it will be an emotive event. Both are obviously putting their legacy at stake, to prove who is the best, satisfying an enormous created expectance. They are also competing to be considered one of the best 10 fighters in the entire boxing history.” -WBC president Mauiricio Sulaiman. As a large number of votes came in to the WBC website, a brand new title was chosen to represent the World Champion and the World Boxing Council. With 53% of the votes, the emerald designed belt was chosen to represent the champion on May 2nd at the MGM Grand Arena. The belt will showcase their own faces on gold badges along with encrusted emeralds embellishing the inner core of the belts design. The WBC announced the results of the votes going on to say “After an intense voting week, fans have ruled that the Winner of MEGA FIGHT between Mayweather Vs. Pacquiao, will triumphantly hold aloft…the Emerald belt! This exquisite masterpiece is especially designed by the World Boxing Council, for a unique bout that is already gracing the pages of Boxing History. In order to appropriately recognise the Winner of this titanic and epic event on May 2nd, emeralds have triumphed.” The WBC was very grateful that they received a large array of fans that participated on their website to cast their vote. With much at stake for this fight, we still have to wait until May 2nd to see who will be crowned victor and take home the large crash price along with the new WBC championship belt. Mayweather and Pacquiao will not only be fighting for crown jewels and a big pot of money but to take home the biggest award of all, The World Champion and Boxing Legend.

Tension brewing around Pacquiao-Mayweather Jr. mega-fight

Tensions appeared to be rising around the long awaited welterweight world title fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather jr, with the fighters’ camps reportedly at odds over a proposed doping penalty. Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz told the Los Angeles Times on Thursday that he was “a little puzzled and dismayed” that Mayweather wouldn’t agree to the $5 million penalty Pacquiao had proposed should either fighter test positive for a banned drug. Mayweather Promotions chief executive Leonard Ellerbe, however, told the newspaper that the drug testing protocol for the May 2 fight in Las Vegas had been “rigorously negotiated” by Pacquiao promoters Top Rank. In comments to ESPN.com, Ellerbe called Koncz an “idiot.” “If this moron didn’t convey his fighter’s wishes when the negotiation was going on that’s their problem,” Ellerbe said.

 
“This is a lame-ass attempt to generate publicity.” Drug testing was an issue in attempts to put a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight together in late 2009 and early 2010. Mayweather wanted random Olympic-style blood and urine testing, but Pacquiao objected to some of the protocols and the deal disintegrated. Mayweather later accused the Filipino ring icon of using performance-enhancing drugs, a charge which Pacquiao denied. Pacquiao sued Mayweather over the accusation and the two settled out of court. Drug-testing differences have been just part of the long and winding road to the May 2 match-up between the two fighters widely considered the best pound-for-pound fighters of their generation. The bout has required rival telecasters Showtime and HBO to work together to produce a fight considered a lock to break all records for pay-per-view viewers and revenue. Pacquiao, a two-term Congressman from Sarangani province in the Philippines, is 57-5 with two drawn and 38 knockouts while Mayweather is 47-0 with 26 knockouts. Last week, the US Anti-Doping Agency said both fighters had agreed to undergo Olympic-style random drug testing prior to the bout. Mayweather has submitted to USADA testing for all of his bouts since 2010. Both fighters must provide USADA with their whereabouts and make themselves available for blood and urine tests for drugs including human growth hormone (HGH) and the blood-boosting erythropoietin (EPO). Pacquiao first suggested the reciprocal fine for a failed drug test as extra insurance that a doping issue wouldn’t scupper the fight that fans worldwide have clamored for. But Ellerbe charged the arrangement was an attempt to “put a $5 million price tag if Manny tested positive.” “It will cost Manny a lot more than some $5 million if he comes up positive,” Ellerbe said.

Pacquiao, Mayweather Hype Fight

The scene was something millions of sports fans thought would never happen: Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, the two best fighters in the world and boxing's two biggest stars, standing face to face, just the two of them, alone on a stage to finally announce the big fight -- one of the biggest ever. The long-awaited moment played out Wednesday afternoon at the Nokia Theatre in downtown Los Angeles where, following red-carpet arrivals that made this look more like a Hollywood awards show than a boxing news conference, the fighters were introduced to more than 700 credentialed media members. That is a gigantic number for a boxing news conference. But, then again, this was not a normal boxing news conference. And it is the only joint news conference Mayweather and Pacquiao will hold to hype the fight until fight week. Then, a few days later, they will square off to unify their welterweight world titles, determine pound-for-pound supremacy and crown the king of their era on May 2 (Showtime PPV/HBO PPV) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. "I believe this is what you are waiting for since five years ago," Pacquiao said with a smile from the podium, referencing the long haul it took for the sides to finally make a deal for a fight that will easily be the richest in boxing history. "The fight is on, and we're very excited. Both of us will undergo hard training and we will do our best on May 2 to make you happy."

When Mayweather came to the podium, he was low key and soft spoken.

"It's been a long road, but we're here now," Mayweather said. "May 2, the fight of the century. It's all about the best fighting best, and Pacquiao is one of the best fighters of this era.

"Everything is about timing. I think we couldn't choose a better time. This is a fight that the world can't miss. It's an unbelievable matchup, action-packed fight. I'm in the gym working right now, dedicating myself to the sport, pushing myself to the limit because I never wanted to win a fight so bad in my life, and I'm pretty sure he is going to push himself to the limit because he wants to win it the same way I want to win it."

For more than five years, the fight has loomed as the biggest in boxing. But numerous ups and downs and contentious talks kept it from being made for years. The deal was finally signed Feb. 20, helped along by a chance meeting between the fighters at a Miami Heat basketball game in late January, and it was as though all the years of rancor and bad feelings over previous failed negotiations had never happened when the sides got together for the news conference.

The talk from the fighters and their teams -- and even rival television executives from HBO (which has a contract with Pacquiao) and Showtime (which has a deal with Mayweather), who had to make a deal for a joint pay-per-view to make the fight possible -- turned the proceedings into something of a lovefest. With the pomp and circumstance behind us after Wednesday's news conference between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in Los Angeles, here are five things we learned, writes Brian Campbell. Story "We're family. We're all part of this boxing family," said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, referencing the well-publicized animosity between the camps when he made his remarks from the podium.

Arum promoted Mayweather for most of his career until their acrimonious breakup in 2006, but even they shared some light moments. When Mayweather, sitting a few feet from Arum, smiled at one of his comments, he turned to Mayweather and said, "You missed me, right, Floyd?" There was plenty of discussion about how big the fight will be. Most view it as a lock to break the all-time pay-per-view buy record of 2.4 million for Mayweather's 2007 HBO PPV fight against Oscar De La Hoya and the all-time pay-per-view revenue record of $150 million set by Mayweather's 2013 fight with Canelo Alvarez on Showtime PPV. Counting all streams of revenue, many believe the fight will generate more than $400 million.

"We had [Muhammad] Ali-[Joe] Frazier, we had [Sugar Ray] Leonard-[Roberto] Duran, we had Leonard-[Marvin] Hagler, and now we have Pacquiao and Mayweather," Arum said. "This is the biggest fight of its era. It's a great event for boxing. Everybody around the world is interested in this fight -- ambassadors, senators, celebrities." "This is the super bowl of boxing," HBO Sports president Ken Hershman said. "They're the two greatest boxers of their generation. It transcends boxing for sure and it probably transcends sports." If there was any trash talk, it came from Freddie Roach, Pacquiao's Hall of Fame trainer, who was instrumental in getting the final round of negotiations going between Arum and CBS Corp. president Leslie Moonves, who oversees CBS-owned Showtime.

"I love challenges. This is the biggest challenge of my life," Roach said. "It's finally here and in front of me. I've been looking forward to this for a long, long time. We're in the fight of our lives but we're gonna kick his ass. Good luck, Floyd." Said Pacquiao, "He has a good defense but I'm not worried about that. I can easily break that defense."

Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs), 38, of Las Vegas, who stands to earn more than $100 million, is rarely flustered by comments from his foe. Asked about the magnitude of the bout, he said simply, "It's just another fight for me. He's a guy that I can not overlook. He's a very exciting fighter. It's an intriguing matchup." Mayweather, who prides himself on his undefeated record, did bring up the fact that Pacquiao has lost before. Mayweather believes that is an advantage for him.

"One thing I do know about any sport -- when you lose, it's in your mind," Mayweather said. "If you lost once, it's in your mind. If you lost twice, it's in your mind. From day one, I was always taught to be a winner no matter what, push yourself to the limit, stay focused and be the best that you can be.

"We've faced all the top guys. I believe in my skills, I believe in myself and I believe I'm going to be victorious." The 36-year-old Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs), the Filipino legend, is the underdog but said the fight won't be his toughest.

"I don't anticipate this being the hardest fight," he said. "That would be Miguel Cotto, [Oscar] De La Hoya and [Antonio] Margarito. I knew De La Hoya was fast, and I was moving up two weight classes [to fight him]. And Cotto I knew was a very hard puncher. And Margarito hit very hard and was much bigger than me. I don't see that in Floyd Mayweather. I don't see any of that."

Both fighters said they were happy the fight had finally been made. "This is a very important fight, a big fight," Pacquiao said. "Last year, by November, I knew [the fight would happen]. I realized that it's time. I'm the one who is going to push it to make the fight happen, and it happened. That coincidence that we met in Miami, it helped a lot, a big help for this fight. [But] I knew it before that. I had faith that the fight would happen because Floyd had nowhere else to go." Pacquiao gave into numerous Mayweather demands in order to get the deal done, including giving him the lion's share of the revenue. "I agreed with what he wanted to do to make the fight happen, 40-60," Pacquiao said. Mayweather and Pacquiao both are winding down their all-time great careers, and Mayweather also said he was pleased the fight the public has wanted for so long is finally on.

"Without everyone together, we couldn't make this fight happen, so I have to be thankful we came together to give the world the fight they want to see, Mayweather-Pacquiao," he said. "May 2 is when the world stops to tune in to Mayweather-Pacquiao, the biggest fight in boxing history." They posed together before the news conference began and then posed together again when the formal portion was over. Like it had been a half-hour earlier, it was still hard to believe the fight was finally happening.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (born Floyd Joy Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American professional boxer. He is currently undefeated as a professional and is a five-division world champion, having won ten world titles and the lineal championship in four different weight classes. Mayweather is a two-time Ring magazine Fighter of the Year (winning the award in 1998 and 2007); he also won the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) Fighter of the Year award in 2007 and the Best Fighter ESPY Award in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2014. Mayweather is the WBC, WBA and Ring welterweight champion, and the WBC Super, WBA, and Ring junior middle weight champion. He is also rated as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by many sporting news and boxing websites, including Ring, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, BoxRec, Fox Sports, and Yahoo! Sports.

Mayweather topped the Forbes and Sports Illustrated lists of the 50 highest-paid athletes of 2012 and 2013, and the Forbes list again in 2014, listing Mayweather as the highest paid athlete in the world. Mayweather's father contends that Floyd is not telling the truth about their early relationship. "Even though his daddy did sell drugs, I didn't deprive my son", the elder Mayweather says. "The drugs I sold, he was a part of it. He had plenty of food. He had the best clothes and I gave him money. He didn't want for anything. Anybody in Grand Rapids can tell you that I took care of my kids". Floyd senior says he did all of his hustling at night and spent his days with his son, taking him to the gym and training him to be a boxer. "If it wasn't for me he wouldn't be where he is today", he maintains. "I basically raised myself," Mayweather says. "My grandmother did what she could. When she got mad at me I'd go to my mom's house. My life was ups and downs". His father says he knows how much pain his incarceration caused his son, but insists he did the best he could. "I sent him to live with his grandmother", he says. "It wasn't like I left him with strangers". Boxing became Mayweather's outlet – a way to deal with his father's absence.[citation needed] As the elder Mayweather served his time his son – with speed and an uncanny ring sense – put all his energies into boxing, dropping out of high school. "I knew that I was going to have to try to take care of my mom and I made the decision that school wasn't that important at the time and I was going to have to box to earn a living", Mayweather says.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Statistics
Real name	Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Nickname(s)	Pretty Boy Money TBE (The Best Ever)
Rated at	Super featherweight (130 lb) Lightweight (135 lb) Light welterweight (140 lb) Welterweight (147 lb) Light middleweight (154 lb)
Height	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Reach	72 in (183 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	February 24, 1977 (age 38) Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	47
Wins	47
Wins by KO	26
Losses	0
Draws	0
No contests	0

Mayweather is officially set to face Manny Pacquiao after years of hardship and turmoil from negotiations on May 2, 2015 inside MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.[146] Pacquiao and Mayweather agreed to split the purse 60-40 (Mayweather earning the majority 60%) after years of disagreement during negotiations and the purse being the main factor.

Manny Pacquiao

Emmanuel "Manny" Dapidran Pacquiao, born December 17, 1978) is a Filipino world champion professional boxer. At 32 he was elected to the Philippine House of Representatives. He has also been involved in basketball, acting, and is a retired singer. He is the first and only eight-division world champion, in which he has won ten world titles, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes.

According to Forbes, he was the 14th highest paid athlete in the world as of 2013. He was named "Fighter of the Decade" for the 2000s (decade) by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO). He is also a three-time The Ring and BWAA "Fighter of the Year," winning the award in 2006, 2008, and 2009, and the Best Fighter ESPY Award in 2009 and 2011. He is the current WBO welterweight champion and is currently ranked number three on The Ring pound-for-pound list. He was long rated as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by some sporting news and boxing websites, including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Sporting Life, Yahoo! Sports, About.com, BoxRec and The Ring from his climb to Lightweight until his losses in 2012. Beyond boxing, Pacquiao has participated in basketball, business, acting, music recording and politics. In May 2010, Pacquiao was elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines, representing the province of Sarangani. He was re-elected in 2013 to the 16th Congress of the Philippines. Pacquiao, while mostly focused on being a boxer and a congressman, is listed as the head coach of the basketball team Kia Sorento. At 36, he also played 7 minutes of one of the team's games and is thus a professional basketball player. He was drafted onto the team that he coaches as 11th overall on the first round of the 2014 PBA draft by the Kia Sorento, making him as the oldest rookie drafted, as well as the shortest player and the first dual-sport athlete in the Philippine Basketball Association. Pacquiao also owns a team in the PBA Developmental League (PBA D-League), the MP Hotel Warriors. Pacquiao is set to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. in Las Vegas on May 2, 2015.

Manny Pacquiao
Statistics
Real name	Emmanuel Dapidran Pacquiao
Nickname(s)	Pac-Man, Ang Pambansang Kamao (The Nation's Fist), The Mexicutioner, The Destroyer, Fighting Pride of the Philippines, Pambansang Ninong (National Godfather), The Fighting Congressman[citation needed] The Filipino Slugger
Rated at	Flyweight Super Bantamweight Featherweight Super Featherweight Lightweight Light Welterweight Welterweight Light Middleweight
Height	5 ft 6 1⁄2 in (169 cm)
Reach	67 in (170 cm)
Nationality	Filipino
Born	December 17, 1978 (age 36) Kibawe, Bukidnon, Philippines
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	64
Wins	57
Wins by KO	38
Losses	5
Draws	2
No contests	0

Pacquiao was born on December 17, 1978, in Kibawe, Bukidnon, Philippines. He is the son of Rosalio Pacquiao and Dionesia Dapidran-Pacquiao. His parents separated when he was in sixth grade, after his mother discovered that his father was living with another woman. He is the fourth among six siblings: Liza Silvestre-Onding and Domingo Silvestre (from first husband of his mother) and Isidra Pacquiao-Paglinawan, Alberto "Bobby" Pacquiao and Rogelio Pacquiao. Pacquiao married Maria Geraldine "Jinkee" Jamora on May 10, 2000. Together, they have five children, Emmanuel Jr., Michael Stephen, Mary Divine Grace, Queen Elizabeth and Israel. His daughter, Queen, was born in the United States. He resides in his hometown General Santos City, South Cotabato, Philippines.[20] However, as a congressman of lone district of Sarangani, he is officially residing in Kiamba, Sarangani, the hometown of his wife. Raised in the Roman Catholic faith, Pacquiao is currently a practicing Evangelical Protestant. He is also a military reservist with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Reserve Force of the Philippine Army. Prior to being commissioned to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, he first entered the Army's reserve force on April 27, 2006 as a Sergeant. Later, he rose to Technical Sergeant on December 1 of the same year. On October 7, 2007, he became a Master Sergeant, the highest rank in the enlisted personnel. On May 4, 2009, he was given the special rank of Senior Master Sergeant and was also designated as the Command Sergeant Major of the 15th Ready Reserve Division.

Floyd Mayweather vs Manny Pacquiao, The Stare Down

Rivals Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao met face-to-face on Wednesday (Thursday morning Philippine time) in the only press conference of their superfight on May 2 in Las Vegas. Both boxers posed for the traditional stare down for the very first time which lasted almost a minute. Mayweather and Pacquiao both promised an exciting fight which is expected to generate no less than $300 million.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. Press Conference

Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao come face-to-face in Los Angeles on Wednesday . The meeting marks the first, and only time, the pair will square-off ahead of the weigh-in, 24 hours before their mouth-watering May 2 blockbuster bout, so it promises to be explosive. The press conference gets under way at 8.30pm (UK time) and Sportsmail will bring you live coverage so be sure to tune in. Freddie Roach (Pacquiao's trainer): 'We are in the toughest fight of our lives, we are fighting the best fighter in the world... but we are going to kick his ass.' Manny Pacquiao: 'For the fans of boxing, I believe, this is what you are waiting for since five years ago. Both of us are going to undergo hard training for this fight and we will do our best on May 2 to make you happy.' Floyd Mayweather: 'This is a fight the world can't miss, it is an unbelievable match-up. I'm in the gym working right now, dedicating myself to the sport because I've never wanted to win a fight so much in my life.' So, the boxers won't square up until the weigh-in on May 1 in Las Vegas. Until then stayed tuned as Sporstmail will bring you all the latest news, pictures and videos as we gear up to the biggest fight in boxing history.

Mayweather speaks Ellerbe acknowledges Floyd Mayweather Sr, who will train his son for the fight, but who is declining to speak at the podium. And then an emphatic introduction of: “pound for pound the greatest fighter on this planet: Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather!” “It’s all about the best fighting the best. And Pacquiao is one fo the best fighters of this era. Everything is about timing. I think we couldn’t choose a better time. Our game plan is just to be smart and take it one fight at a time, like all 47 [previous] fights. This is a fight that the world can’t miss. This is an unbelievable matchup. Action-packed fight. I’m in the gym working right now, dedicating myself to the sport. Pushing myself to the limit because I’ve never wanted to win a fight so bad in my life. And I’m pretty sure he’s going to push himself to the limit, because wants to win the same way. “One thing I do know about any sport. When you lose, it’s in your mind. If you lost once, it’s in your mind. If you lost twice, it’s in your mind. From day one, I was always taught to be a winner, no matter what. Be a winner. Push yourself to the limit. Stay focused and be the best that you can be. Stephen Espinoza, I want to thank you. Richard Sturm, I want to thank you. Bob Arum, Team Pacquiao. Because without everyone together, we couldn’t make this fight happen. So I have to be thankful for us coming together as one, so we can give the world what thay want to see: “Mayweather-Pacquiao, the biggest fight in boxing history.”

Pacquiao speaks After a long-winded introduction that touches on the ancient roots of the Filipino people, Bob Arum finally brings Manny Pacquiao to the microphone. “I believe this is what you have been waiting for since five years ago,” Pacquiao says. “The fight is on and you’re very excited. Both of us, we are going to undergo hard training for this fight. We will do our best and on May 2 to make you happy. “The most important thing ... is the name of the lord. The name of the lord will be glorified. I want to let the people know that there is a God who can raise people from nothing into something. And that’s me. I came from nothing into something.”

Roach: “We’re going to kick his ass” Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s longtime trainer, keeps it short and sweet. “I’d really like to thank everyone who made this fight happen,” the six-time Trainer of the Year says. “I love challenges. This is the biggest challenge of my life. It’s finally here, it’s finally in front of me. I’ve been looking forward to it for a long time. “We are in the toughest fight of our life. We’re fighting the best fighter in the world. And we’re going to kick his ass. I’m sorry. Good luck, Floyd.”