Mayweather vs. Pacquiao: Twitter Reacts to Official Fight Announcement

The biggest dream fight in boxing is finally official as Floyd Mayweather will face Manny Pacquiao on May 2. On the heels of the groundbreaking announcement, social media is buzzing about the upcoming clash.

Many anticipated that an official deal would be announced Friday, and Mayweather provided it through his Shots.com account:

The fight took much longer to consummate than most observers hoped, but the two sides were ultimately able to negotiate terms that they were comfortable with, as laid out by ESPN.com's Dan Rafael:

This battle between the two biggest and most recognizable boxers in the world has been years in the making. It was recently reported that Mayweather and Pacquiao had reached terms, but there was plenty of skepticism due to the fact that they had seemingly been so close to finalizing deals in the past.

According to Rafael, it all came down to the undefeated Mayweather releasing the information to the world:

The 37-year-old legend certainly marches to the beat of his own drum, but his decision to delay the announcement perplexed many:

Since fans have already been forced to wait a very long time for this fight to come to fruition, it was only fitting that Mayweather continued to build the anticipation.

Speaking of the fans, Ryan Songalia of Ring Magazine believes they were largely responsible for pushing Mayweather and Pacquiao to compromise:

It is fair to say that no potential fight in recent memory has been discussed more than Mayweather versus Pacquiao. The fact that it will soon be reality means that the speculation can finally stop, which is something that pleases Bleacher Report lead MMA writer Jeremy Botter:

With so many close calls in the past, it seemed as though nobody wanted to believe that Mayweather and Pacquiao would fight until it came straight from one of the combatants.

Once Mayweather announced it, Rafael released a comical, tongue-in-cheek tweet:

There is absolutely no question that Mayweather and Pacquiao are the two boxers capable of truly moving the meter during a time when the sport is seemingly on the decline.

Even so, there is some apprehension about the fight being as entertaining as it could have been years ago. ESPN's Robert Flores is among those who expressed the sentiment:

ESPN's SportsNation played up to that point of view with this doctored photo:

While some of the reaction was certainly negative, others are thrilled to see one of the most anticipated fights in history come to fruition.

Count Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com among them:

ESPN's Marcellus Wiley is another figure within the sports world who can't wait for Mayweather and Pacquiao to finally lock horns:

The same goes for ESPN anchor Cassidy Hubbarth, who doesn't believe that the long wait has hurt the luster of the fight:

Noted ESPN antagonist Skip Bayless has long been vocal about Mayweather "ducking" Pacquiao, and he feels as though the Filipino star will have renewed motivation ahead of his bout with Mayweather:

Despite Bayless' past claims, Josh Slagter of MLive.com reports that Mayweather expressed his desire tio face Pacquiao to Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza:

It's also fair to say that the entire city of Las Vegas stands to benefit from the spectacle. That includes the sportsbooks. Not surprisingly, they have wasted no time in releasing a betting line with Mayweather starting out as a fairly substantial favorite, per SportsCenter:

Boxer Paul Malignaggi believes the oddsmakers are on the mark as he envisions Mayweather coming out on top:

Now that the fight is official, there will undoubtedly be plenty of talk about the potential outcome in the following month's as Pac-Man looks to place a blemish on Money's perfect record.

For now, though, there seems to be a celebratory mood within the boxing community, and it is for good reason.

The sport desperately needs a catalyst, and Mayweather versus Pacquiao could be precisely that.

Follow @MikeChiari on Twitter