Is the Mayweather-Pacquiao Superfight Finally Happening?

Even the most battle-hardened pessimists in boxing are now starting to believe the long-awaited superfight between boxing’s greatest superstars, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, is finally going to happen.

The two welterweights have been on a collision course for over six years now, and they have been ranked together at or near the top two pound-for-pound spots in the sport for the majority of the same time frame.

But the fight has never seemed so close to being announced.

John Locher/Associated Press/Associated Press

Pacquiao recently told Joel Guinto of the Agence France-Presse (via Yahoo Sports, h/t The Washington Post's Matt Bonesteel) that "negotiations are nearly finished” for the fight. In fact, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach went so far as to suggest in an interview with Seconds Out that he’s already lining up sparring partners to prepare Pacquiao for Mayweather's style.

The date of the bout seems to be set, too.

According to a Showtime press release (via Boxing247.com), Mayweather’s next bout, assumed to be against Pacquiao, will take place on May 2.

MGM Resorts International Chairman and CEO Jim Murren alluded to the long-awaited announcement during a conference call Tuesday. Murren advised that the MGM reserved the May 2 date for Mayweather and hoped for a “big, big fight.”

Kin Cheung/Associated Press

“If it is the fight we hope it is,” said Murren. “Then it is the biggest fight.”

Mayweather has yet to announce his intentions. While it’s clear the two sides have remained in constant negotiations for the bout since December, Mayweather has been relatively mum on the topic recently except for denying rumors that the fight had been finalized in a TNT interview at Sunday's NBA All-Star Game (via ESPN.com).

“No, that's not true,” said Mayweather. “Um, I haven't signed yet, and he hasn't signed yet, you know. It's just been speculations and rumors. But hopefully we can make the fight happen."

So will the fight actually happen? Boxing writers around the world have gone from universally doubting it to expressing enthusiastic hope over the past few weeks.

Michael Woods of The Sweet Science believes an announcement could come as soon as Thursday:

So says Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times:

Still, if the two sides plan on finally giving fans what they’ve wanted for so long, it would seem the two camps would have to announce the fight soon in order to receive the benefit of a full promotional cycle. One does not try to smash all pay-per-view, box-office and live-gate records known to man without enough time to advertise the fight.

And this one could absolutely pull such a thing off.

Kin Cheung/Associated Press

As noted by Yahoo’s Kevin Iole, despite the slight decline of both men as they have aged past their primes–Mayweather is 38 and Pacquiao is 36—interest in the megafight remains as high as ever. Not only are the two fighters the biggest superstars in the sport, but most boxing insiders, such as Iole, agree the two men present each other with an interesting matchup:

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Mayweather is the master boxer of this generation, at his best, an almost impregnable foe. He's able to see punches coming from virtually any angle and not only is able to avoid them, but land stinging counters in return. Pacquiao is the left-handed slugger, the likes of which Mayweather hasn't faced… At his best, Pacquiao is a fast, powerful and devastating puncher who leaves a trail of elite fighters in his wake.

"

And so the boxing world awaits the announcement of perhaps the biggest fight in the sport’s history. Optimism is high and for good reason. There is simply no better fight for either man at the present, and neither has an option that is as lucrative or interesting.

It looks like Mayweather vs. Pacquiao is finally going to happen.