DC SocialPulse Special: Countdown to Mayweather/Pacquiao

BY DC CUEVA

> @DC408dxtr / @DC408dxnow

After taking a bit of a break on here, welcome everyone to May and to this Special Edition of DC SocialPulse with me, DC Cueva. If you check out this site regularly, you often come here for the action, reaction and interaction of the MTV Trifecta of The Real World, The Challenge and Are You The One?, and occasionally other events too. But today, with our coverage of the latest season having wrapped up a little while ago and with a Forum debrief still to come here, we will focus in on that fourth option, and something that will be the talk of the world coming up tomorrow night.

We are now only hours away from, outside of Super Bowl Sunday, what will be the most-exciting single day in sports in a very long time. And we're a day away from its marquee event, whose countdown to it began in earnest 70 days ago today, exactly ten weeks ago as we post this on Friday, May 1st.

   Friday, February 20, 2015 marked a milestone in the sport of boxing, when a post on a relatively new social media platform confirmed the news to both fans of the fight game and casual sports fans alike that they had awaited for a long time. That would be of Floyd Mayweather posting a picture on his partially-owned social network Shots of a document confirming his long-awaited fight against Manny Pacquiao, a dream matchup that has been on everyone's minds in boxing for upwards of six years. There had been numerous hurdles that stood in the way of the two biggest fighters of their generation from meeting one another, until a chance meeting at a Miami Heat game changed everything and paved the way for the fight to finally be given a go.

   In every retrospect, Mayweather-Pacquiao will be the most lucrative boxing and combat sports event in history, with records expected to be broken in every which way - from pay-per-view sales and the live gate to merchandise and an enormous economic impact on Las Vegas; not to mention a prize purse that will easily number into the hundreds of millions of dollars. All parties involved - promoters, two rival premium TV networks, the MGM Grand Hotel - have put in time and effort to make it happen, and now only the main event is only one day away. And that's only part of a super sports Saturday that will also feature America's greatest horse race, baseball's fiercest rivalry, a Game 7 and much more.

Ahead here, we'll bring you the social media reaction from Twitter and beyond from executives, fellow fighters, media and of course the two combatants as they reacted to the news that became official on a Friday afternoon that set forth into motion perhaps the most-anticipated year for the sport of boxing in a generation. For those who visit this site regularly, this will be presented in the style that's made DC SocialPulse well known to MTV fans in bringing loyal blog readers all the reaction from the shows that get fans talking. And after social media's reaction, we'll offer a lengthy essay on the road that eventually brought Floyd & Manny together, what it means to a sport on the verge of a renaissance, and how the night of the fight may be the single biggest day of sports in the social media age.

   Join DCBLOG after the jump for all the buzz from the Friday that kicked off the Countdown to Mayweather-Pacquiao.

THE ANNOUNCEMENT - February 20

> WORDS FROM THE CONTEMPORARIES
First, just as we did for our two special 'Pulse posts covering the passings last November of MTV Challenge legend Diem Brown and Real World'er Ryan Knight prior to Battle of the Exes 2, instead of bringing you the twitter blow-by-blow as the moments happen in diary style, we'll be presenting the comments of those from the boxing world, presented one-by-one rather than in diary style. In some of the quotes below, we've combined separate tweet comments from users into one single post to conserve space.

On @Shots: "What the world has been waiting for has arrived. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao on May 2, 2015, is a done deal. I promised the fans we would get this done, and we did. Don't miss it! This is the signed contract from both fighters. www.themoneyteam.com"
Press Release: "I am glad my decision to meet with Manny and discuss making this fight happen helped get the deal done. Giving the fans what they want to see is always my main focus. This will be the biggest event in the history of the sport. Boxing fans and sports fans around the world will witness greatness on May 2. I am the best ever, TBE, and this fight will be another opportunity to showcase my skills and do what I do best, which is win. Manny is going to try to do what 47 before him failed to do, but he won’t be successful. He will be number 48."
- Floyd Mayweather @FloydMayweather

On Twitter - "I am very happy that Floyd Mayweather and I can give the fans the fight they have wanted for so many years. They have waited long enough and they deserve it. It is an honor to be part of this historic event. I dedicate this fight to all the fans who willed this fight to happen and, as always, to bring glory to the Philippines and my fellow Filipinos around the world."
On Instagram - "Finally he sign the contract so the fight is on, this is what im talking about that I sign already before, im just explaining to the fans and to prove that im not lying, i have the fear of the Lord. So this is it! The fight is on fans you deserve it thank you. to God be all the Glory."
- Manny Pacquiao @MannyPacquiao

"Floyd should enjoy being the A-Side while he can because on May 2 Manny is going to put him on his backside." 

- Freddie Roach @FreddieRoach, Pacquiao's Trainer, per @TRBoxing

"Success is the best revenge! Thank you to all the fans for your patience and continued support, this will be a great fight! Me and my @MayweatherPromo team are excited to be working with @trboxing to make this the biggest promotion ever! Thanks to all the media around the globe for your patience.  This fight on May 2 will be epic!"
- Leonard Ellerbe @LEllerbe, Floyd Mayweather's Manager & President, Mayweather Promotions

"It's going to be a great fight. We are confident our fighter @MannyPacquiao will emerge victorious. My guy is really going to give Mayweather a lesson in the ring, either stops him or by decision, but win he will."

- Bob Arum @BobArum, Chairman, Top Rank, Inc. @TRBoxing

"Everyone involved, including Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, knows this fight simply had to happen. All of us are thrilled to be able to deliver this event to boxing fans around the world. Now, for the second time under his current deal with Showtime Networks, Floyd Mayweather has agreed to fight an opponent that many people thought he’d never face. We set an all-time pay-per-view record with the first event back in September 2013, and we look forward to another record-breaking performance on May 2."
- Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President, SHOWTIME Sports and Former Executive, Golden Boy Promotions

"Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather have been the two most prominent fighters in the sport of boxing for the past decade, and fight fans around the world have been clamoring for them to face each other. And now, on May 2nd, in what everyone believes will be the biggest boxing event of all-time, fight fans have been granted their wish. May 2nd will be a signature moment for the sport of boxing and HBO Sports is thrilled to be a part of this spectacular event. I know the fighters and their teams will be primed to excel and we plan to work closely with everyone involved to deliver the same level of performance from a broadcast perspective." 
- Ken Hershman, President, HBO Sports and Former President, Showtime Sports; on IG @HBOBoxing

"It is a fact @WBCBoxing MEGA EVENT... Floyd has been WBC CHAMPION for 17 years , MANNY became WBC champion 112 lb 17 years ago ! Hurrah !!! Oh my GOD !!!! I have received 100 calls for @FloydMayweather vs @MannyPacquiao .... It's 2 30 am and can't sleep everybody wants to go !!!"
- Mauricio Sulaiman @wbcmoro, President, World Boxing Council

"It's official, the fight is on! Mayweather versus Pacquiao May 2 at the MGM Grand. Yes, I will be there too. Just as it was with Lewis v Tyson, look for my esteemed colleague Michael Buffer & I to share the ring announcing duties."
- Jimmy Lennon, Jr. @TheClassyJr, Ring Announcer and to introduce Mayweather at the fight

"So, now I guess I'll have to reschedule May 2nd dinner engagement my wife and I have with Barack and Michelle. They will be so disappointed"
- Al Bernstein @AlBernstein, Showtime Boxing Analyst

"Wait is finally over! Boxing’s biggest debate can finally be settled. Sticking w/ my prediction: @FloydMayweather wins. #MayweatherPacquiao"
- Paulie Malignaggi @PaulMalignaggi, Boxer and Showtime Boxing Analyst

"Surprise, surprise! Lol. See ya in VEGAS!!!! #mayweatherpacquiao"

- Lou DiBella @loudibella, Boxing Promoter

BOXERS

"#MayweatherPacquiao IS ON!  May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas! Glad 2see that all parties concerned were able 2make #MayPac happen!  If me and @MikeTyson could do it, I had no doubt they could too!"
- Lennox Lewis @LennoxLewis, former Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, last to unify all recognized HW title belts ('99, def. Holyfield)

"Can't wait to see @FloydMayweather and @MannyPacquiao fight on May 2! #MayweatherPacquiao"
- Sugar Ray Leonard @SugarRayLeonard, former 5-time world champion, analyst on Premier Boxing Champions on NBC

"Pacquiao/Mayweather, is a true Fan's fight "who wins?" Depends on who you ask."
- George Foreman @GeorgeForeman, two-time World Heavyweight Champion, oldest to win HW title ('94, def. Moorer)

"Mayweather announces he's fighting Manny Pacquiao. Good luck guys. A fight we all been waiting for."
- Amir Khan @AmirKingKhan, two-time World Champion and rumored to be Pacquiao's next opponent; will face Chris Algieri in late May

"Por el bien del boxeo que bueno que se hizo la pelea Mayweather VS Pacquiao y por el respeto a los fans. (Translation - "For the sake of boxing was good that Pacquiao VS Mayweather fight and respect for the fans.")"
- Saul "Canelo" Alvarez @Canelo, Mexican fighter who fought Mayweather in Sept. 2013 and set record PPV gate

@ChinoMaidana: Chino on 5/2 Floyd vs. Pac mega-fight: "Mayweather is too good. I think he beats Manny."

- Marcos Maidana

"For years promoters have been cheating fighters for $ I'm glad @FloydMayweather stuck it back to them. They had no choice but to pay up!"
- Gabriel Rosado @KingGabRosado

"IT'S ON! @FloydMayweather is just off the phone & confirmed it to me. He can't make Belfast due to training camp. He sends his apologies"
- Peter Frampton @RealCFrampton

"The fight of the century!!!!!!!! #MayweatherPacquiao"

- Austin Trout @NoDoubtTrout

"It's Official May 2 "Fight of the Century"👊 @floydmayweather emmanuelpacquiao http://instagram.com/p/zV-5DTjbg6/"

- Antonio Tarver @AntonioTarver

"floyd by decision. any takers?"
- Mikey Garcia @mikeygarcia

"The amount of celebrities/athletes etc. that are going to be at #MaywatherPacquiao will be insane. It's ridiculous. I can't even believe it."

- Trevor McCumby @T_RevMcCumby

"Time for Canelo to move that May 2nd date, Amir Khan back to plan B or C. Fight is done, May 2nd history will be made! @floydmayweather Let's go!!!!!!!! #tmt #48-0 #history #hardworkdedication"

- Ishe Oluwa Smith @IsheSugarShay

> THE MEDIA

"THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!! THIS IS THE REAL THING!!! #MayweatherPacquiao IS ON!!! MAY 2, MGM. I REPEAT. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"The weight limit is 147, there is no rematch clause, each man wears their usual brand of gloves, 60-40 split. #MayweatherPacquiao"
- Dan Rafael @danrafaelespn, ESPN.com Boxing Writer

"OFFICIAL! Mayweather-Pacquiao. MGM Grand. Las Vegas. May 2, 2015. The #MayweatherPacquiao fight is done. Fights on network TV ... What a great year this is shaping up to be for #boxing"

- Kevin Iole @KevinI, Yahoo! Sports Boxing Writer

"#Shots fired! It's on! Boxing is back. This is going to be an amazing year. Plenty to blame for this fight not happening over past five years. But credit to @FloydMayweather for stepping up and getting it done. #MayweatherPacquiao"

- Brian Campbell @BCampbellESPN, ESPN.com Boxing Writer

"WOOOO-HOOOO! Finally! Floyd quit running and got shamed into risking his rep vs Pacquiao. May 2! Floyd Mayweather gets his butt kicked. FINALLY for the 1st time in maybe 4 years Manny Pacquiao can get serious about a fight. All he has wanted for 4-5 years was MAYWEATHER."
- Skip Bayless @RealSkipBayless, ESPN

"Yyyyyyyyeeeeeaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!!!! It's on and poppin. See y'all in Vegas on May 2nd"
- Stephen A. Smith @stephenasmith, ESPN

"Don't be nervous. It's happening. Because Floyd knows if he tried to wriggle out after all this, he'd NEVER live it down. I'll just tweet this once: Nobody cares about the alphabet titles. 2 of them, 3 of them, whatever. It is for THE welterweight championship."
- Eric Raskin @EricRaskin, HBO Boxing Writer & Podcast Host

"I think Twitter just broke. #MayweatherPacquiao"

- Kieran Mulvaney @kieranmulvaney, HBO Boxing Writer & Podcast Host

"By my count: What's going on May 2: Mayweather-Pacquiao, NFL draft, NBA Playoffs, Yankees-Red Sox, NHL Playoffs, Kentucky Derby"
- Greg Newman @GregNewmanESPN, ESPN.com Writer

"In my life, only fights with kind of debate/anticipation as @FloydMayweather @MannyPacquiao are Ali-Frazier, Leonard-Hearns, Oscar-Tito" - Rich Marotta @boxingrich, boxing commentator

"It's happening. @FloydMayweather v Manny Pacquiao on May 2nd. Now that is a fight!"
- Gary Lineker @GaryLineker, BBC Sport Match of the Day

"Finally MM/Pac-Man & boxing back on free network TV. 2015 looking great. Reports of our sports demise have been greatly exaggerated #boxing"

- @Tureano1984  ·  Feb 20

"It's official: Mayweather-Pacquiao. May 2nd. MGM Grand in Las Vegas."

- Chris Mannix @ChrisMannixSI, Sports Illustrated Boxing Writer & NBC Sports Contributor

"For those saying May-Pac is "5 years too late", You will still watch it just like everyone else. Stop hating. It got done. Be thankful"

- Todd Grisham @GrishamESPN, ESPN.com Writer

PERSPECTIVE: #MayPac

The talk of the prospect of the biggest boxing fight in a generation has lasted the course of the past six years, and finally the hard part is behind us. The discussion among boxing fans of what it would be like if Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao could square off in the ring and determine once and for all who the best boxer of his generation has been dominating the sport since the winter of 2009, and now that dream has finally been realized, and will soon be for real. Yes, it has been a long time since that drumbeat for the Super Bowl of Boxing began, but it's better late than never as the buzz reaches its apex in less than 24 hours from now. This is the first time in several years that a sport that was a major sport in America in the 1st half of the 20th century will dominate the world's attention, attracting both hardcore fight fans and casual sports/non-sports fans.

   At last, when the ink was finally dry, the buzz turned, rightfully so, to the training, the preparations and the buildup to the first Saturday in May, which will now take on added significance beyond it being Kentucky Derby Day. Imagine a record betting day in Las Vegas with both boxing and horse racing on top of the NBA & NHL playoffs and Yankees-Red Sox. And along with Day 3 of the NFL Draft, WGC Match Play golf and others, already so many of you sports fans are preparing for what promises to be the ultimate Super Sports Saturday. In fact, this has prompted my family to give the house I've called home since early in my childhood an extreme makeover to accommodate what we'll have on Saturday.

In our family circles, we often get together for birthdays, holidays and times we enjoy for our entire extended family. Ever since I was a kid, we've had an affinity for the sweet science thanks to fight viewing parties that we've had for many years, going all the way back to Mike Tyson's reign as champ well before the emergence of Manny Pacquiao. Him fighting a slew of boxing's biggest names has given us reason to come together at least two times a year for the last decade for his fights. He's defeated the likes of Eric Morales, Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito and recently Timothy Bradley. Of course, Manny being Filipino has a lot to do with it, given that he is unquestionably the most well-known person in what we call the Motherland.

   Like many of the greatest fighters before him, Floyd Mayweather emerged on the scene with a bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, which was controversial because of the always prevalent issue of judging and scoring in boxing. It was him losing the only meaningful fight of his career that fueled him to turn pro, which he did shortly thereafter. Ever since, he has maintained a clean sheet of 47 wins and 0 losses, and also retired several times during the time frame. He was a relative no-name in the eyes of the casual sports fan up until 2007 when he met also met the Golden Boy in the last fight that garnered the kind of massive crossover appeal that May/Pac is receiving now. After that victory, Mayweather regained his position as Ring Magazine's #1 pound-for-pound fighter, and ultimately beat Marquez too.

   In 2009, I had the opportunity to be in Las Vegas not just for my 26th birthday, but also for Pacquiao-Cotto. I remember being in the foyer outside the MGM Grand Garden Arena with lots of fight fans soaking in the atmosphere that is unlike any I've experienced as a sports fan. His stoppage win over the Puerto Rican added to his 2nd round KO of Ricky Hatton that summer (who was also a KO victim of Mayweather's two years earlier) that helped him become the biggest star in boxing. And it was during the latter stages of the fight that the voice of boxing, HBO's Jim Lampley, acknowledged the buzz started within the MGM Grand fight crowd that a mega-fight with the then-retired Mayweather was possible, and both fans and media started the buzz.

Mayweather-Pacquiao talk has dominated boxing headlines for what seems like forever and it seemed that it would last for such a long time that nothing would happen. One time, they were on the same network with the sport's premier carrier HBO, and all parties came close to putting it together several times during the course of four years, but to no avail - concerns about drug testing and revenue sharing had something to do with it. But HBO commentators' criticism of Floyd and lack of editorial control led him to bolt networks and signed a record 6-fight, nine-figure PPV deal with Showtime two years ago, making things more complicated. Plus, there's been longstanding tension between Mayweather and former promoter Top Rank, who promotes Pacquiao, given that head honcho Bob Arum's company gave preference to Manny. That led Floyd to go at it alone and launch his own promotion company, Mayweather Promotions, to manage his fights, after being aligned for some time with De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions.

   In the late '90s buzz was abound for a mega fight between heavyweights Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson, but both fighters were with separate networks and it took for extensive negotiations for the fight the public wanted to become big, and revenue records were smashed for Lewis/Tyson on June 8, 2002. The parent companies of both premium networks have been doing joint business the last several years in Showtime parent CBS and HBO's sister operation Turner jointly producing NCAA Tournament coverage and co-operating The CW, and both HBO & Showtime dusted off that Lewis/Tyson paper to make May/Pac a reality. Both networks also happen to share custody of the same person in Liev Schreiber - longtime narrator of HBO Sports documentaries and star of Showtime's Ray Donovan.

Then when things looked bleak, two significant events changed the course of boxing history and led us all to this week. First in the summer of 2014, a Los Angeles restaurant waiter came in contact with Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach, and the trainer arranged for Arum and chairman of Showtime parent CBS Corporation, Les Moonves to meet and get things going. It was at that restaurant meeting that Roach knew this was gonna happen. Then, executives from CBS and HBO began negotiations while Mayweather took care of Marcos Maidana and Pacquiao dominated Chris Algieri. Once again as it was in 2002, it took for the networks to put aside their rivalry, agendas and issues to make it happen. The same was true for both Top Rank and Mayweather Promotions as well.

   And of course, there's the night of Tuesday, January 27th in Miami. Talk of May/Pac among the two combatants themselves had been somewhat muted, other than for a couple shoutouts to one another on social media until a chance meeting and help from Mother Nature. After Pacquiao judged the Miss Universe pageant two nights earlier, rain delayed his Philippine flight home by a day, so for the extra night in South Florida he decided to go to American Airlines Arena and the Heat/Bucks game. As fate, timing and luck would have it, also at that game was Mayweather. This was the first time they had met face to face, and only the 2nd time they had been in the same building at the same time.

   It was Pacquiao's advisor Michael Koncz who arranged for them to meet at halftime on court, and thanks to cameras everywhere it sparked enormous and instantaneous reaction in this age of social media. There, they exchanged phone numbers and pledged to establish a rapport with one another with this fight in mind. Later that night, Mayweather went to Pacquiao's hotel for about an hour to discuss things and work out some kinks. That spurred all involved parties to get talks going while America's attention was fixated on Super Bowl XLIX and the early part of February with the objective to close the deal as soon as possible. This taking place even with denials of reports from social media stating the fight have been made until it would be made official.

   And of course, it was made official thanks to Mayweather's social media post on February 20th. After much was made over who would get which in what's expected to be $400 million, Mayweather will receive the lion's share of the 60/40 purse split in overall revenue. Floyd also receives top "A side" status on the fight bill, and entering the ring & being introduced second, along with choice of ring corner and locker room in the MGM Grand. Mayweather Promotions will be lead promoter over Top Rank, and will lead efforts in event planning from press conferences to in-arena entertainment. Drug testing was so much a huge deal in the negotiations back then, and will still be thanks to Olympic-style drug testing overseen by the United States Anti-Doping Agency.

   May/Pac is sure to leave behind every revenue-related record in combat sports in its wake. The fight is expected to shatter the pay-per-view buy records held by Mayweather's 2013 fight against Saul Canelo Alvarez and 2007 mega fight against Oscar De La Hoya, and the two Holyfield-Tyson battles, with a $90-100 PPV price tag that's expected to top 3 million total buys ($300M). And the prices for the tickets will range from $1,500 at the cheapest when the 1,000 general sale tix were sold out in minutes upon release to $250,000 on the secondary market, or $150 for one of the 37,000 closed circuit tickets at MGM Mirage locations in town ($5.55M). When the dust settles, it's likely this will be the richest fight in boxing history, when all of a likely $300 million is all accounted for. And the economic impact on Las Vegas will be akin to that of a Super Bowl or Olympics, projected at likely $1 billion.

The Mayweather/Pacquiao fight could not come at a more perfect and ideal time for the sport. Boxing has been in a steady decline of interest for many years now, and the enormous interest in the UFC has shifted fans' preference of combat sports in North America to mixed martial arts. But if there was a year for great anticipation for a sport that outweighs MMA by a mile in its depth, history and lineage, 2015 is the biggest one in many years. And even before Friday, Feb. 20 came about, there was already reason to those in boxing to be optimistic.

   First in January, Deontay Wilder became the first American to hold a heavyweight title belt in over a decade when he won the WBC title, and just last weekend American Bryant Jennings challenged reigning unified heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko in New York, which the Ukrainian won in a decision. It's the recent lack of contenders in what's historically been the division in boxing, and the one that brought many U.S. sports fans to boxing in the first place, since Lennox Lewis' 2004 retirement that turned casual viewers away and hardcore fans' attention to the lighter weight classes where Mayweather, Pacquiao and others call home.

   And second, there has been a sudden shift in how many fans watch fights on television to help drive interest in the sport. Mayweather's manager, Al Haymon, announced in February a pact with NBC Sports to bring high caliber boxing back to network television and to primetime, in addition to fights on NBCSN. Shortly thereafter, his Premier Boxing Champions promotion also penned deals with MTV's sister channel Spike TV, ESPN, ABC and CBS, along with continuing to supply HB fighters to Showtime. Before being lured by premium TV, pay-per-view and cable, it was the free-to-air networks that were the TV home of boxing, and it laid claim to being the first sport to fully embrace the possibilities of television thanks to the intimacy of a ring being illuminated by arena lights.

   Now, Haymon's time-buy deals with four broadcasters, along with May/Pac, have spurred a sudden resurgence in boxing on television. Thanks to the vast majority of the sports television landscape being secured for the next decade with contracts to all the major properties being locked up into the next decade and beyond, it opened up the gates for networks to fill time I between with fights aplenty. Imagine boxing fans now have as many networks airing fights now as they did 25 years ago and in the same way college football & hoops fans have for many years. To put it bluntly, it's everywhere: HBO, Showtime, NBC, CBS, ESPN, ABC, NBCSN, FOX Sports 1, Spike TV, CBS Sports Network, TruTV, BET, Telemundo, UniMas, TV Azteca, beIN Sports and of course pay-per-view and YouTube.

As for the particulars of this fight, here they are...

- Just as it was in 2002, HBO and Showtime will join forces again to produce the pay-per-view broadcast, with Showtime in charge of the production and both networks contributing talent to the broadcasts. Jim Lampley, Roy Jones, Jr. & Max Kellerman from HBO will join Al Bernstein, Jim Gray, Paulie Malignaggi & James Brown from Showtime domestically, and SHO blow-by-blow man Mauro Ranallo calling the world feed with Bernard Hopkins & Andre Ward. And in the Philippines, Pacquiao's broadcast proprietor Solar Entertainment invited free-to-air networks GMA Network, ABS-CBN and TV5 to air a special simulcast of the fight, a'la the '07 Patriots-Giants NFL Network mega-cast.

- Also, as it was with Lewis-Tyson, the ring announcing will be shared by Michael Buffer and Jimmy Lennon Jr., who will respectively introduce Pacquiao who fights under the HBO banner, and Mayweather who is under Showtime's wing. The sport's top referee, Kenny Bayless, will be the 3rd man in the ring; Burt Clements, Dave Moretti and Glenn Feldman will be the judges, and Jamie Foxx and Gail Banawis will perform the national anthems.

- The fighters' gear will again pit sneaker giants Reebok and Nike against one another as the former  supplies some of Mayweather's The Money Team gear along with a Harlem designer designing his leather trunks, while Pacquiao's entire gear is backed by the Phil Knight company featuring trunks valued in the five figures. And for mouth guards, Floyd's gear with Diamond dust, gold flakes and a cutout of a $100 bill is valued at $25,000; Manny's guard has protection as well.

And then, there's May 2nd. It has been described by me, through my Instagram post, as Super Sports Saturday. The last time that a day in sports, other than the Super Bowl, garnered as much attention in the full spectrum of it, was on that aforementioned June 8, 2002. In addition to Lewis/Tyson, sports fans were also focused on horse racing and War Emblem's valiant attempt to win horse racing's Triple Crown fall short. The FIFA World Cup tournament had just begun overseas in Asia, while the Lakers were in the NBA Finals vs. the Nets, the Red Wings and Hurricanes were playing for the Stanley Cup, and interleague baseball took place, as did the French Open.

   This Saturday will exceed that Super Saturday in so many ways. Just hours before the fight, one of America's greatest sporting events and the world's biggest thoroughbred horse race, the Kentucky Derby, will be run in Louisville. Up the way in Chicago, the 3rd & final day of the 2015 NFL Draft will take place. To the east in Boston, the Yankees and Red Sox will play game 2 for their 2nd series of the season in baseball's fiercest rivalry. We will have a Game 7 in the NBA Playoffs between the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers, while the 2nd round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs will kick off the afternoon. Here where I am situated in the Bay Area, golf's best will be into the round of 16 and quarterfinal matches of the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Match Play Championship at Harding Park in San Francisco; while the Supercross season will wrap up down the way from the Vegas strip at UNLV's Sam Boyd Stadium. And for international sports fans, there's WTA tennis in Madrid, the final in the European Champions Cup in rugby union, the World Table Tennis Championships in China, and World Championships in both regular & sled ice hockey and in the billiards offshoot of snooker.

In all, Mayweather-Pacquiao is more than just your typical boxing match. This will pit a defensive-first boxer whose orthodox style is to stretch the opponent to the distance, versus a southpaw left-hander who was at first reckless, then became conservative following his last loss. This will see a battle of trainers: for Mayweather, it's the duo of Floyd Sr. and uncle & former champ Roger; for Pacquiao, it's longtime trainer Freddie Roach, who along with being 5-time Trainer of the Year also has the touching story of being someone who lives with Parkinson's Disease. And this features two contrasting personas: Mayweather has his materialistic "Money" personality as the world's most-paid athlete who lives the fabulous life in Las Vegas, while Pacquiao is the Philippines' favorite son, as not just its greatest athlete but also an elected congressman and faithful family man.

   Both fighters have won multiple titles in multiple weight classes: Pacquiao has won title belts in an unprecedented eight weight classes: 112, 122, 126, 130, 135, 140, 147 and 154 pounds...a boxing record. For Floyd, he's held titles at 130, 135, 140, 157 and 154 lbs.  At stake on Saturday will be so much more than just money. There's a lot of alphabet soup when it comes to championships in boxing thanks to the four sanctioning bodies of the World Boxing Association, World Boxing Council, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organization. Three of those belts will be put on the line Saturday in Mayweather holding the WBC and WBA titles, and Pacquiao the WBO belt he won back from Timothy Bradley after their controversial first fight three years ago.

   But above all else in the title scenario is supremacy. The alphabet soup of boxing championships is that multiple governing bodies recognize their own champions, and it's rare now for any fighter to unify an entire division. Sure the IBF crown won't be at stake (it's held by Englishman Kell Brook), but the most important title that's on the line is the welterweight division's lineal championship, a notional title which means "he beat the man who beat the man." It's been vacant since Mayweather's 2008 temporary retirement, but with the division's top two-ranked fighters finally facing off, the winner wins not only the three belts but also becomes the true welterweight champion of the world. And of course, the winner also becomes boxing's best pound-for-pound fighter. It doesn't get any better than this.

   And oh, here's something most of you don't know: This is not the first time that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao were on the same fight card. The last time was 14 years ago on Nov. 10, 2001 at Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on an HBO doubleheader, where Mayweather defended his 130-pound title versus Jesus Chavez (which he won via TKO 9 when Chavez's corner decided to stop after being outclassed), and where Pacquiao made his HBO debut in defending a 122-pound title (which he won in an undercard match for a Oscar De La Hoya PPV card) which he retained after a headbutt-initiated technical draw. No one in that arena at the time had any idea that the second time they would be on the same fight card would be against one another, and with so much at stake.

This is, after all, the perfect storm for a sport on the cusp of a significant renaissance after years of being in the wilderness in the community of mainstream sports in America. Two of its biggest names, and the two who have the greatest appeal to non-hardcore boxing fans, finally facing off in a fight being billed as "The Fight of the Century." The economic impact of this event will be unlike any other in sports history outside of the Olympics. There's new deals that are expanding the reach of the sweet science to more television viewers and networks than ever before. And there is greater optimism for everyone involved in boxing, all spurred by the dream matchup that everyone wanted for six years.

   Something boxing has over UFC is generations of fight fans coming together to witness this generation's mega fight on Saturday. Ask any sports fan in their 50's to 70's and they'll likely tell you what the anticipation was for the first fight between Joe Frazier and Muhammed Ali in 1971, or even your grandpa of the big fights that took place in the '40s or '50s. Those of the Generation X crowd might remember the super fights of the 80's among the Big 4 of Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran. Or for people like me, the loaded heavyweight era of the late '80s and '90s with Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and Riddick Bowe.

   Now, boxing fans in this new century has its once on a generation Mega Fight, dubbed the Fight of the New Century. And it will also be the first time that fight fans have the immediacy, intimacy and togetherness of social media, which have made the fighters, those in the boxing community and sports fans connect with one another in a way the sport's pioneers could never have imagined. This will likely rival this year's Super Bowl and last year's FIFA World Cup final as the most-tweeted sports event ever. But, this is also the ideal situation for what has long been one of the most intimate of sports as well, with a strong impact on fighters, fans and beyond.

So, we stand hours away from two of boxing's biggest names in the 21st Century, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, getting together in the same ring and determine, once and for all, who the best fighter of his generation will be. And if the six years of fantasy and speculation and three months worth of anticipation produce a fight that would be as epic and competitive as many fans feel it will be, it will be one of the biggest sports events we have witnessed in our lifetime. It should be an event like other no other. And it should be a day unprecedented in modern day sports history, with boxing's first Mega Fight taking center stage on a day that also has the Kentucky Derby, an NBA Playoffs Game 7, Yankees-Red Sox, the NFL Draft, the Stanley Cup and so much more. For sports fans, though we're now into May it feels like December 24th. Tomorrow will be Christmas Day...it will be epic.

> FAN OF THE WEEK

Before we wrap up this special edition of DC SocialPulse, again a chance to send a shoutout one of my fellow followers and great social media friends. During one of my MTV posts, you got to meet Dave Olmann @BigTymers228, who is one of the biggest fans of the Trifecta of the RW/Challenge franchise and Are You The One?. But David is more than just an MTV fan, and he's also into sports as well, and because of him living in America's largest city, he's also had the great opportunity to head out and about all around New York City to meet so many people from the entertainment and sports communities.

   It would be a bit of a drag for me to mention each and every single celebrity, MTV star or athlete he's met, but David has met a number of people from the fight game. This includes the oldest boxer to win a world championship in Bernard Hopkins who won a light heavyweight title at age 49 last year; the aforementioned Paulie Malignaggi from Showtime, BKB champion Gabriel Rosado; and HBO Boxing Insider Kieran Mulvaney who hosts a must-listen podcast with Eric Raskin and co-hosted the media days for MayPac with Showtime's Mauro Ranallo and Brian Custer. And just last month at the PBC event in Brooklyn, he met PBC boxers Danny Jacobs, Peter Quillin, Errol Spence, Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia, as well as HBO's longtime unofficial scorer Harold Lederman.

   Be sure to follow David at @BigTymers228 on both Twitter and Instagram, including proof of him meeting those in the boxing community and in the sports & entertainment worlds. And I do plan to bring him on to discuss his meetings with these people on a future edition of DC FORUM, so look out for it in the future.

Be sure to follow my DC Social Network for what will be a true Super Sports Saturday. First, be sure to follow my dedicated twitter handle devoted to live tweeting of big sporting events and entertainment, DCNOW at Twitter @DC408DxNow. There, you'll join me in the front row to all the day's sports events starting with the Kentucky Derby, continuing with Game 7 of Spurs/Clippers and wrapping up with Mayweather/Pacquiao. We'll also cover Day 3 of the NFL Draft from Chicago (including the very last pick that will be named Mr. Irrelevant), the Round of 16 & Quarterfinal action from the WGC Match Play, Rangers/Capitals in the NHL and the other events going on around the wide world of sports.

   I also plan to be busy on my Instagram account IG @DC408Dxtr where family & friends will join me here to not only watch the fight & more, but also premiere our new house to everyone. If you've seen two of my pictures there, a couple of my fellow classmates from high school got the chance to meet the trainers of both fighters in Roger Mayweather and Freddie Roach, so check them out there. And if you want to chat it up with me on all things sports, be sure to hit me up on Twitter @DC408Dxtr too...I love to hear what you have on your mind, as well as on Tumblr at dc408dxtr.tumblr.com.

   And for here on DCBLOG, I have plenty of sports coverage coming to this site beyond this special MayPac post, including articles on the NBA and NHL, major championship golf, soccer in time for the Women's World Cup, and much more. Plus, stay tuned to this site for a DC FORUM special with me and fellow MTV fans Andrew Kirk and Brian Cohen as we discuss the recent seasons of the so-called fifth major sport, The Challenge and The Real World. And if you missed my coverage of those seasons, catch up here with my SocialPulse diaries for every episode.

Again, thanks for joining us here for this SocialPulse special looking at Mayweather-Pacquiao. And of course, be sure to join me on DCNOW tomorrow for what will be the busiest day ever, headlined by the biggest fight in a generation on a sports day unlike any other. Until then, thanks for reading, have fun and see you then. And good luck to the fighters.

- I AM DC