One Week From Now, We Won't Be The Only Ones Fuming...

I was trying to figure out how I was going to handle Saturday's hullaballoo between a convicted abuser and a homophobic tax cheat.

The Billion-Dollar Fight -- Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao (respectively) -- finally goes down (or so we think!!!) on Saturday.

First things first:  If the state of Nevada enforced it's laws, both men would be in prison, neither would have a boxing license, and Las Vegas would spend Cinco de Mayo weekend getting ready for Taylor Swift and Rock in Rio USA the next two weekends.

Instead:

• Hotel rooms on the Strip -- if you can find them at all!!! -- are going for about $1,000 for Fight Night on Expedia.
• The fight has already gained over $13 million in sponsorship money and a 1,700 square-foot store for fight merchandise (and the latter is at the Fremont Street Experience downtown (where hotel rooms are going for about $400 and up for Fight Night)).
• The HD PPV will set you back $100.  (Standard definition is $90.)
• Over three million buys are still expected, even at those prices.
• The cheapest secondary-market ticket for the event is going for over $5,000.  It'll take literally six figures to get a floor seat at the MGM Grand Garden Arena now.
• Closed-circuit viewings can't be found in Vegas (all sold out), and at least one California Indian casino is charging $75 for their screening.

......

And if anyone thinks this fight goes off as a legitimate event, I think every person who reads this blog will have wonderful beachfront property to sell you somewhere in central Saskatchewan.

I had a talk with friends about this the last couple of nights, and the best way I heard it put was my friend who aids in contributing with me here, who called it the biggest fly-by-night operation ever seen.

That friend is correct, and that's why people better get ready to get real good and pissed off come Sunday.

Let's take a look at some of the ways I think this can go pear-shaped:

• The fight turns into a Floyd Mayweather special -- he wins an easy decision in a fight far-too-similar to his other arranged fights.  There are many reasons for this scenario to go down, the best of which forwarded by my friend:  The only reason the fight is going off, and so quickly, is that the IRS is closing in on Pacquiao and told Mayweather it might be in everyone's best interests to get this fight happening ASAP.  That said, the fight is in Mayweather's building, with his promotion company the controlling interest.  All the cards appear on the table for another Mayweather fix -- this one cementing him as the "best" of our age, and mouthing off all the way to the bank to the tune of over $200,000,000.
• The result is arranged -- a draw for an even bigger rematch in one year's time.  I was not quite right when I said "all the cards" appear on the table for Mayweather.  There are two other factors to keep in mind: Mayweather has one more fight on his contract with Showtime, and there's a new arena being built at the MGM Grand (20,000 seats, opening in the Spring), and who wants to open it?  Money...
• The fight doesn't take place at all, but the undercard does.  Usually, when something falls apart causing a late cancellation of the event, it's days before.  But the whole "fly by night" nature of this event could see a problem the night of the fight, while the rest of the card is going on -- the gloves aren't as agreed, etc. and so forth.

Imagine the reaction in Vegas if any of these things occurs...