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Mayweather eyes $180m payday
Floyd Mayweather could earn $180 million for fighting Manny Pacquiao in May.
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The first ticket for the tournament in Las Vegas still has to be sold but new estimates show Mayweather may receive substantially more than earlier predictions of $120 million.
Pacquiao is now expected to earn well over $100 million for the welterweight title bout on May 2. Previous estimates were that he would make $80 million.
The money is staggering, though not unexpected. Five years of waiting seem to have piqued the public's demand for the one fight even casual fans of the sport want to see.
"For whatever it is worth, the buildup over these years has certainly enhanced the fight," says promoter Bob Arum.
"Everybody knows about it now; even people who don't follow boxing. Plus we have a good economy, unlike in 2009 when people were out of work and didn't have the money to spend."
Spectators will certainly pay a price, especially those lucky enough to score a ticket inside the MGM Grand arena. Ticket prices there range from $1,500 in the upper deck to $7,500 at ringside.
Arum said last Tuesday the gate at the MGM would fetch more than $72 million, obliterating the previous live gate record of $20 million in Nevada set by Mayweather's fight with Saul Alvarez in 2013. — AP
