LAS VEGAS — The day is finally here.
After five years of anticipation, the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight is just hours away.
But before you fire up the grill or settle down on the couch for the evening, here are a few more news nuggets you might have missed throughout the week:
Banned from the MGM: CNN’s Rachel Nichols and ESPN’s Michelle Beadle both tweeted Saturday morning that their credentials for the fight were apparently blocked by Floyd Mayweather’s camp. Nichols grilled Mayweather on his domestic violence past during an interview last year, and Beadle has never been shy on Twitter in expressing her thoughts on not only Floyd but Manny Pacquiao’s views on homosexuality.
UPDATE (12:25 p.m. PT): Kelly Swanson, head of Floyd Mayweather’s public relations team, took to Twitter to respond to Nichols and Beadle.
How to pay $49 for the PPV: The $99 price for Mayweather vs. Pacquiao in high definition is daunting. But if you like beer (and lots of it), there’s a way to save up to $50. If you purchase three 18-packs of Tecate beer, you can receive a $50 rebate. Two 18-packs will earn you $30 back and one 18-pack is good for $15. The mail-in rebate is limited to 675,000. Drink up.
How to watch the PPV for free: Fly or drive to Mexico. TMZ Sports reported the entire country of Mexico will get Mayweather vs. Pacquiao for free thanks to networks Televisa and Azteca. Your move, Time Warner and DirecTV.
Boxing dream team: If you ask any boxing fan to put together an all-star broadcast/analyst team, the likely answer would be Jim Lampley (HBO) and Al Bernstein (Showtime). And for obvious reasons this duo hasn’t worked together … until now. “We have joked about it privately, speculated with each other in personal conversations, and thought it would never happen,” Lampley told Sports Illustrated. “We thought it would be something missing from our combined career resumes. But now here it is.” Roy Jones Jr. will join Lampley and Bernstein ringside as Max Kellerman and Jim Gray will handle interviews.
Pulling the plug: Fans watching the fight Sunday morning in the Philippines are being asked to unplug their refrigerators and air conditioning units for fear of blackouts across the country. “If it is just for the Pacquiao fight, let us just leave electric fans and TVs on,” said Palawan Electric Cooperative secretary Rante Ramos. “We have waited so long for this, and now that it will happen … it is unacceptable not to have the opportunity to watch it.” Pacquiao fans will be literally sweating it out during the fight, as the scheduled high on Sunday in Manila is 93 degrees.
Wait, there’s an undercard? With all the attention on Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, lost in the shuffle is the undercard for the main event. Normally you have three (or even four) televised pay-per-view fights before the main event, but Saturday’s card will feature only two: Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Gamalier Rodriguez and Leo Santa Cruz vs. Jose Cayetano. You probably shouldn’t root for knockouts unless you like mindless filler content because Mayweather vs. Pacquiao isn’t starting before 11 p.m. ET.
Tyson to sing national anthem: Well, sort of. Jamie Foxx, who is playing Mike Tyson in an upcoming biopic, will sing the anthem minutes prior to both fighters squaring off at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Selfishly, I was holding out hope for another R. Kelly performance.
- Boxing
- Sports & Recreation
- Floyd Mayweather
- Manny Pacquiao
- Michelle Beadle
