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By: William Holmes
The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of March 17th to March 24th, covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Could Bring $400 Million to Las Vegas
The purse between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao could be around $300 million, but it’s also being reported that the fight could be an economic boom to the city of Las Vegas and bring in about $400 million dollars. Hotels are already jacking up their prices for that weekend and casinos are bracing for a huge economic windfall from the “fight of the century.”
In fact, weekend room rates at the MGM Grand during fight weekend are starting at $1,600 a night.
More information on the economic windfall for the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight can be found here.
Bob Arum States Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Had to Happen in Las Vegas
Several venues were listed as possible spots to host the mega fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, but Bob Arum stated that despite the rumors, he always wanted the fight to be in Las Vegas.
Arum stated, “Don’t forget that I live here. All the workers in the entertainment and gaming industries, every restaurant and bar owner and all their waiters, every hotel executive and their employees, all the cab drivers and every maintenance man. . . they’re all my neighbors.”
He went on to state, “Ask yourselves. Am I going to let them down? Am I going to disappoint or upset the folks next door? That would have made life very difficult for me. But on top of that, this fight truly belongs in Las Vegas.”
He continued, “‘What we have here now is the biggest event in the history of Las Vegas. There will be a hundred thousand or more visitors. Some with tickets for the fight. Another 30,000 watching on closed circuit screens. Others just for the experience and so they can say they were here that night. Hotel rooms are a thousand bucks a night. With all the high rollers, you are looking at a casino drop at the tables of hundreds and hundreds of millions.”
Read more here.
Tebow Catches Pacquiao’s Sparring Session
Tim Tebow, who was born in the Philippines and does a lot of charity work there, was able to visit Manny Pacquiao’s training camp and watched Pacquiao work out for nearly three hours in a gym session.
“It was the first time they had ever met, and yet it seemed they had known each other forever the way they immediately embraced each other,” said Bob Arum.
“Manny’s training session was phenomenal and inspiring,” said Tebow.
“It was an unbelievable scene yesterday,” said Roach. “Tim Tebow is a great competitor, a stand up guy who embraces his responsibility for being a good role model. He and Manny shared a lot yesterday. It was terrific.”
Tebow is currently scheduled to attend the May 1 opening of the Tebow CURE Hospital in Davao City, Philippines. More information on Tebow’s hospital can be found here.
Ricky Hatton to Talk Mayweather/Pacquiao at an Exclusive Lunch
On Saturday, May 2nd Ricky Hatton will host an exclusive lunch at one of Las Vegas’ finest restaurants, Aureole at Mandalay Bay, from 12:30-3:30pm. This lunch will include a reception with hors’ d’oeuvres, wine, and beer, as well as a three course lunch with wine.
Hatton has fought both fighters and is in a unique position to give his thoughts on the biggest and most hyped fight of 2015. If interested send an email to [email protected].
Sky Sports Box Office Will Exclusively show Live Coverage of Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao
Sky Sports Box Office has been awarded exclusive live rights to “the fight of the century,” the welterweight world championship unification clash between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, thanks to an agreement announced today.
The contest will be shown live from the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Sky Sports’ viewers will be able to follow build-up to Mayweather v Pacquiao across its channels and digital media outlets, including access to both boxers’ training camps, press conferences and public appearances.
Barney Francis, Managing Director of Sky Sports, said: “This fight has everything and is set to be one of the biggest sports events of the year. As the home of boxing in the UK and Republic of Ireland, we’re thrilled to be awarded the rights.
“We’ll provide Sky Sports viewers with the best possible build-up across our channels and outlets and the best coverage of the fight itself from our team in Las Vegas.”
Analysis of the fight will be provided by Adam Smith, former world cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson and former world lightweight champion Jim Watt, as well as a range of boxing experts. Sky Sports viewers can also enjoy an extensive schedule of support programming providing the best possible analysis of the fight including the weekly magazine programme Ringside, the Ringside Toe 2 Toe podcast series and feature length interviews..
Sky Sports News HQ will be in Las Vegas during the final build-up to bring the latest news and analysis from both camps including the official press conferences, and weigh-in as the two fighters complete their training camps.
24/7 Alvarez vs. Kirkland Premiers May 5th
The super welterweight battle between Canelo Alvarez and James Kirkland will air on May 9th on HBO. In anticipation of this bout, HBO will air one episode of 24/7 Alvarez/Kirkland on Tuesday May 5th at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT and will air multiple times throughout fight week.
Big Daddy Hopes for Home Advantage Against Ruslan Chagaev
Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne wants to make history on his home soil. Australia has never had a world champion at heavyweight, but Browne will get the opportunity to do that when he faces WBA Champion Ruslan Chagaev. Browne was made the mandatory challenger last month and he hopes the fight will happen in Australia.
“It’s a really exciting stage of my career. I’m ready to become Australia’s first ever heavyweight champion,” Browne, 35, said.
“Even though there’s no date set, I’ve begun training already and I’m really going the extra mile to make sure the WBA belt is mine. I’m happy to fight Chagaev anywhere, but if it’s in Australia I know it’ll be huge. The public would love to see me knock him out to win the belt and I plan on doing exactly that.
“I’ve got a great team around me. Guys like Ricky Hatton and Jeff Fenech, who know what it takes to become champion. I take in their advice and put it into action. I’m one of the most exciting heavyweights in the world. I don’t like leaving it in the hands of the judges and that’s what the fans love to see. I plan on putting Chagaev to sleep.”
Mike Tyson Needs Your Help Making his Boxing Movie
Martin Scorsese will direct a biopic about Mike Tyson and Academy Award-winner Jamie Foxx is slated to play Mike Tyson.
Mike Tyson released a video on his youtube channel of all of his knockouts and he wants his fans to pick the best that should appear in the film. More information can be found here.
Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez vs. Edgar Sosa to Open up HBO Broadcast
Gennady Golovkin is set to headline the main event of the HBO World Championship Boxing broadcast on Saturday, May 16th at the Forum in California.
Fight fans will get an additional treat as flyweight pound for pound star Roman “Chocolatito” Gonazalez will face Edgar Sosa in the 12 round co-feature.
“I’m very happy to have Roman fight on my card on May 16 at the Forum and on HBO,’ said Golovkin. “He is a great fighter and I’m glad boxing fans will be able to watch him fight on the same night as I do.”
“This is a great opportunity for me to make my HBO debut and in front of a great crowd at the Forum,” said Gonzalez. “I’d like to thank everyone for making this happen and promise to put on a spectacular show on May 16 against Edgar Sosa.”
Sosa stated, “I know this is a big fight for Gonazalez but I will be well prepared on May 16 for victory and to shine in front of the huge crowd at the Forum and those watching on HBO.”
Mercito Gesta Set to Face Carlos Molina on April 30th
Former lightweight world title challenger Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta (28-1-1) and Carlos Molina (17-2-1) will meet each other inside the ring on Thursday, April 30th in a ten round bout on Golden Boy Live! on Fox Sports 1. This bout will be held at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California.
“I’m so excited for my upcoming fight at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino against Carlos Molina,” said Mercito Gesta.
“Carlos has fought well-known fighters Adrien Broner and Amir Khan and I will be ready to challenge him. I know that he is a true warrior with a lot of heart and I plan to meet him as an equal on fight night.
“This will be my first fight as a Golden Boy Promotion fighter and I want to thank Oscar De La Hoya and Robert Diaz for all the support and the opportunity. I know they are committed to bringing the fights and on April 30 I will deliver an exciting night. The fans will not be disappointed.”
Tickets Moving Fast for Gerald McClellan Benefit
On Saturday, March 28th an event honoring the G-Man, Gerald McClellan, will be held at the Masonic Temple Ballroom in Freeport, Illinois to mark the 20th anniversary of the epic and tragic super middleweight title fight between Gerald McClellan and Nigel Benn. Proceeds from this event will aid with Gerald’s medical bills, medication, and costs of the event.
McClellan is a former middleweight world champion but he remains under 24 hour-a-day-care care of his sister. He is blind, he cannot walk without assistance, and has a colon ailment which is the result of his nervous system being altered by his last boxing match against Nigel Benn.
You can contribute towards helping Gerald McClellan here.
