Lights, camera, action: Mayweather vs Pacquiao, sporting theatre at its finest

There is no greater drama than sport at its best. There is no greater thrill than watching high stakes contests on the biggest of stages. Tomorrow night, after more than five years of waiting, the two outstanding fighters of their generation: Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are set to finally meet within the confines of a boxing ring.

Whether you’re a diehard student of the sport they call “the sweet science” or completely averse to watching sweat stained men pound each other for 36 minutes, your pulse has to be racing (at least just a little) at the mention of #MayPac. You’re bound to have heard the rumblings; you’ve almost certainly seen a poster or a television advert at the very least. Fight fever is inescapable. This is not just a boxing match, this is not just a mere sporting contest- Mayweather-Pacquiao is a huge event. Sitting down in front of your television, or in a bar some place at 5 am this Saturday will be an experience like no other. This isn’t sport. This is theatre. In a clash that’s more like a comic book narrative than a boxing match, both men have been cast into their roles.

This is the perfect match up. Two vastly different men with vastly different styles, fighting for the planetary title of Boxing’s Pound for Pound number one. They’re calling it the fight of the century

In one corner, we have the antagonist, the comic book villain: Floyd Mayweather. The man they simply call “Money.” Mayweather’s controversial exploits outside the ring have been well documented. He seems to relish leaving a bad taste in people’s mouths simply because according to him “that’s what sells fights”. Mayweather’s laundry list of antics stretches back almost as far as the list of men he has outboxed in between the ropes. Ever the showman, one of Mayweather’s favourite pre-fight habits is heckling his opponents petulantly at press conferences and in some cases right up until the opening bell. He lambasted Mexican hero Oscar De La Hoya, before donning a sombrero (which was the wrong way round) for his ring walk, posed in a Manchester United shirt to spite diehard City fan Ricky Hatton and grabbed Victor Ortiz by the neck in the build up to some of his more recent bouts.

He also flaunts his considerable wealth at every single possible opportunity. Mayweather tops the Forbes World’s Highest Paid Athletes List and he wants you to know it. He takes to social media to post pictures of million dollar plus betting slips whilst most of us are still worried about this weekend’s accumulator. He’s the only man in the world who could sit down with a straight face and tell you: “this is my cheap Buggatti.” There’s also a darker side to the 38 year old American, he served a 60 day jail sentence in 2012 for domestic violence charges. A serial domestic abuser according to a number of reports, Mayweather seems to have been saved by the boxing authorities in Vegas and elsewhere who relish the profit his fights rake in.

**ALERT** Good source from my #HeavyHitters Vegas crew alerted me that Floyd Mayweather has laid over $5,900,000 on Heat -7 tonight in Vegas

— Vegas Gambling Steam (@Pregame_Steam) June 3, 2013

Inside the ring however, Mayweather is undoubtedly a master of his craft. A man universally recognised as the greatest fighter in the world for almost a decade now. He boasts an unblemished record of 47 wins and 0 defeats. He doesn’t just beat his opponents he often flat out embarrasses them. A defensive genius, Money relies on his cat like reflexes; intelligence and famed shoulder roll technique to evade his opponents, before countering with accurate right hands. He’s hard to hit and doesn’t often miss when he throws punches of his own. With two fights left on his contract with US network Showtime (including this one) and retirement on the horizon, Mayweather is on the verge of history. He is two fights away from matching the legendary unbeaten mark of 49-0 set by Rocky Marciano in 1956. There’s no doubt Mayweather goes into this fight as the favourite. He hasn’t lost since his amateur days at the 1996 Olympics, a distant memory. He also holds a size advantage over his opponent and has taken less punishment over his career than Pacquiao; he hardly leaves the MGM Grand with a scratch on his face. Following some of his bouts you’d think he’d gone out for a dinner date not a scrap.

In the opposite corner, the protagonist, the hero: Filipino slugger Manny “The Pacman” Pacquiao. The 36 year old ranks amongst the most humble champions his sport has ever seen. To claim that Pacquiao says his Hail Marys is an understatement. A born again Christian, he dedicates each and every one of his fights to God. There’s something charming about the 36 year old. He often answers questions with a degree of graciousness one didn’t know was humanly possible, before flashing that trademark grin, all the while exuding quiet confidence. The greatest national hero The Philippines has ever known, he’s gone from destitute poverty, sharing a cardboard shack with his family in General Santos City, to becoming the face of his nation- your classic rags to riches tearjerker. When Pacman fights, the whole of The Philippines comes to a standstill. Already a congressman, Pacquiao will almost certainly pursue a full time career in Filipino politics once the bell rings on his storied career. Maybe even go onto become the President of The Philippines. Who knows? Stranger things have happened.

Inside the ring his achievements as a boxer match those of his opponent. Boasting a record of 57 wins and 5 losses with 38 knockouts, he’s the only fighter in history to have amassed world championships in 8 different weight classes. Starting off as a flyweight, he’s marched up the scales, collecting title after title and redefining what many thought was physically possible. He’s been David against multiple Goliaths and come out on top on nearly every occasion. Pacquiao at his best is a whirlwind of a fighter, with blinding hand and foot speed, throwing punches from awkward angles to wear down his opponents. If that wasn’t enough he hits bloody hard too. His famed left hand has flattened many a man. English fight fans won’t forget the image of Ricky Hatton sprawled out on the canvas, a crumpled, bloody mess with Pacquiao standing over him any time soon. To put it simply he’s made a career out of beating up bigger, supposedly stronger men.

It hasn’t all been plain sailing though. The Filipino has had to undergo a career renaissance of late. An extremely dubious decision loss to Timothy Bradley was followed by disaster in his next fight. In December 2012, he was on the receiving end of perhaps the most memorable knockout in recent boxing history. Long-time rival Jaun Manuel Marquez flattened Pacquiao with a thunderous right hand that left his wife in hysterics at ringside. Despite the calls for Pacquiao to bring his career to a close following those crushing back to back defeats, The Pacman has shown remarkable resolve; forcing his way back to the top of the sport with three consecutive wins. He claimed revenge against Bradley alongside convincing wins over Brandon Rios and Chris Algieri.

This is the perfect match up. Two vastly different men with vastly different styles, fighting for the planetary title of boxing’s pound for pound number one. They’re calling it the fight of the century, the biggest boxing match since Muhammad Ali took on his arch rival Joe Frazier in 1971, a clash that not so coincidentally was given the same name. Ali and Frazier, like Manny and Floyd were polar opposites- Ali the brash showman, Frazier the relentless grinder. The whole world looked on in awe whilst those two went head to head. That night the legendary Frank Sinatra took on the role of a photographer for TIME magazine in a bid to secure ringside seats. Tomorrow night just like that fateful evening in New York a plethora of stars will sit at ringside and the world will hold its breath. Who knows, maybe Jay-Z will reprise the camera wielding role of ol’ blue eyes.

This will almost certainly be the biggest fight in boxing history from a financial standpoint. It’s nearly a foregone conclusion their duel will smash the record figure for pay-per view revenue set by Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya in 2007. This fight however, is about so much more than dollar signs. Events that capture the public imagination like this one are priceless.

You’ve got an invincible man on one side of the ring, Mayweather the braggadocios unbeaten champion who has never tasted defeat, up against a humble challenger in Pacquiao, who has resurrected his career and climbed back to the pinnacle. Flash against intensity, defence against attack. Bright lights and the grandest of stages, years worth of hype. The waiting is finally over. It feels like a Hollywood blockbuster but it isn’t, it’s even better. You couldn’t have made this script up. Mayweather. Pacquiao. Lights, camera, action.