Floyd Mayweather recalls the reaction of his friends on the day he set himself up as an independent boxing business and told them: ‘The time will come when I make a hundred million dollars in one night.’
He says: ‘They told me I was crazy.’ That was when he broke away from Bob Arum, who is the promoter of the other combatant in the richest fight of all time.
Manny Pacquiao will also earn more than $100million in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand on May 2. But Mayweather takes pride in being his own boss as they break the boxing bank.
The man who calls himself Money dictated when this mega-fight between the two best boxers on the planet would happen.
‘Five years too late,’ cry the critics. ‘It’s all in the timing,’ smiles Floyd.
Five years ago they would have split $60million at most. Now Mayweather will bank upwards of $180m (£122m), Pacquiao $120m (£81m). Now the whole world awaits their collision with bated breath.
On this frantic Tuesday, heavy security guards the Mayweather Boxing Club for his media day.
Cameras from more than 30 TV stations and scores of journalists and his crew of friends and admirers wait and eventually witness a nominal workout. Mayweather arrived, somewhat on the late side, in his new, expensive Mercedes Party Bus followed by a police car, guarding one of the most important assets of the city of Las Vegas.
‘This thing just grows and grows,’ says Mayweather. ‘We now have one of the biggest fights ever in boxing history. And it’s not only about the money. One fight won’t define my legacy. What about the 47 I’ve already won?
‘It’s an important fight. It wraps everything together — the money and my boxing. But if one fight defined everything, this would be the only one I’d have needed.’
And after this, he says, there will be only one more. Because it no longer amuses him like it did.
‘I’m pretty much done with all this,’ he says. ‘It’s not fun like it was back then. It’s business now. I don’t really enjoy it any longer.’
He promises to fulfil the sixth and last fight of his mega-millions Showtime contract: ‘Final one at the MGM Grand in September.’
The clamour around him never stops but there have been heavily hyped events like this before which have turned into anti-climax. Will this one be worth the money, at $10,000 (£6,760) for a ringside seat rising to more than $200,000 (£135,000) on the black market, at virtually a hundred dollars (£68) per pay-per-view buy here in America? It’s all in the timing.
‘Our names are way bigger than five years ago,’ he explains. ‘You have the two best in the world fighting each other, at the pinnacle of their careers. And our styles should work. It’ll be exciting.’
Not that Mayweather is jumping around in expectation: ‘I’m not excited. This is another fight for me. Yeah, it’s big but basically it’s no different from all the others.
‘At my age (38), I’m over getting nervous about an opponent. What I have to do is get in that ring and be myself. Be the best Floyd Mayweather.’
That, he is sure, will be enough to win. There’s no trash talking this time. The fight sells itself. But he carries a quiet air of confidence.
There is much speculation about Pacquiao storming his fabled defence but he says: ‘I know I can make adjustments to any fighter.
‘I can assess and make changes if I have to. I’m calm, smooth, calculated and thinking five steps ahead of any opponent.
‘But can he adjust? He’s a reckless fighter. We saw that when he got knocked out by (Juan Manuel) Marquez.’
Pacquiao has also fought more often so it is fortunate for him, Mayweather, and their bankers, that he is two years the younger.
Mayweather adds: ‘If I hadn’t made that decision to be my own boss I wouldn’t be where I will be in the Grand Garden on May 2.’ Wherever he goes in his adopted home town, be it a casino, a nightclub, or his favourite fast-food joint, Fatburger, on the Vegas Strip, Mr Money brews up a storm.
One created by the nature of the desert blows into the marquee in which we are talking. Chairs and tables fly. As most of the group run for cover Mayweather plays pretend scared, then strolls into his gym.
It seems nothing frightens this man who arrived for work in a convoy of ludicrously expensive vehicles. Not a Nevada sandstorm. Not Typhoon PacMan blowing in from the Philippines. – Daily Mail