HBO analysts ecstatic for Mayweather-Pacquiao bout

MANILA, Philippines – HBO boxing analyst Roy Jones Jr. likened the much anticipated megabuck showdown between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.  to a game between Larry Bird and Michael Jordan, while fellow panelist Max Kellerman labeled it as the biggest fight since the the first Muhammad Ali-Joe Frazier tussle 44 years ago.

Jones, a former pound-for-pound king, believes that the fight that should have happened five years ago – when both fighters were still in their prime – will still be one hell of a fight.

"To me, it’s like you got Larry Bird in shape right now, and you got Michael Jordan in shape right now, you're still gonna get one hell of a quarter of basketball. We're not sure how long that quarter would last, but you're gonna get a hell of a quarter, because you've got two of the best," Jones told HBO blow-by-blow anchor Jim Lampley.

Bird and Jordan are two of the greatest NBA players of all time. Bird’s biggest rival was Magic Johnson when Jordan came into the league. Jordan only started to win championships and dominated the NBA at the twilight of Bird and Johnson’s storied basketball careers.

Jones believes that age wouldn’t be much of a factor as Pacquiao, 36, and Mayweather, 38, will be in the best shape of their careers. Jones went on to make his heavyweight title conquest near the end of his career as a reference.

"I won the heavyweight championship of the world, something I never should've gotten my hands on, except by the grace of God, at the age of 36. Thirty-six is not old in today's society, and neither is 38. So don't think Floyd is too old, and don't think Pacquiao is too old,” Jones said.

“Age is not gonna be an excuse here. It's all about who can come out, execute their game plan, and win the fight," he added.

For Kellerman, this fight will be the biggest since the first showdown between Frazier and Ali in 1971 at the Madison Square Garden.

“Legitimately, this is the biggest boxing event, the biggest fight since the Ali-Frazier 1,” Kellerman said.

It’s even bigger than the Ali-George Foreman, the Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler and Leonard-Thomas Hearns, according to Kellerman.

“The world is much more inter-connected now. That [fight] was pre-internet and obviously pre-social media. This is the biggest fight since the Ali-Frazier 1. That’s 44 years ago. And I think the numbers will bare that out when it’s all said and done,” Kellerman said.

The bragging rights of being the true heavyweight champion of their era were at stake when Ali and Frazier, both undefeated during that period, met for the first time in 1971.

Both Ali and Frazier were guaranteed a $2.5 million purse. Ringside seats for that fight cost $150 while gate receipts totaled $1.5 million with a sellout crowd of 20,455.

Forty four years later, Pacquiao and Mayweather will have 40-60 split of the estimated $250 million pay-per-view revenue aside from getting a guaranteed $60 million and $100 million purse, respectively. The staggering numbers are a hundred-fold bigger than what Ali and Frazier each got in what was dubbed as “The Fight of the Century”.