Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Showdown Comes at Perfect Time for Both Superstars

Lost in the shuffle of the excitement over Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao agreeing to the biggest boxing match since these two became worldwide megastars by defeating Oscar De La Hoya is how both fighters needed this bout.

No one is going to cry poverty when it comes to Mayweather or Pacquiao. The former is in the midst of a six-fight contract with Showtime Sports that at the time was called the "richest individual athlete deal in all of sports," per Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes. 

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Mayweather is likely looking at a guarantee of around $200 million for the six-fight deal. Pay-per-view revenues will push that total past $250 million. How much past $250 million depends on the quality and marketability of his opponents, as well as Mayweather staying undefeated.

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If you fast forward to September of 2013, just seven months after signing that record-breaking deal, Mayweather reportedly earned at least $80 million for his bout with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. The idea that the controversial undefeated star needs a megafight to enhance his portfolio is misguided. 

Ditto for Pacquiao, who was reportedly making in the vicinity of $20 million for many of his recent fights. He's got money and is well taken care of outside the boxing ring. 

Yet in terms of sheer relevance when it comes to the craft, both Mayweather and Pacquiao have been losing steam lately. It's more on Pacquiao's side than Mayweather's, but just look at the buyrates for these two stars since 2013:

Mayweather Opponent	Buyrate	Pacquiao Opponnt	Buyrate
Robert Guerrero (May 2013)	1 million (approx.)	Brandon Rios (November 2013)	475,000
Canelo Alvarez (September 2013	2.2 million	Timothy Bradley (April (2014)	800,000
Marcos Maidana (May 2014)	900,000	Chris Algieri (November 2014)	300,000
Marcos Maidana (September 2014)	925,000	-

The Mayweather numbers aren't discouraging, though the Alvarez bout is an outlier because there was some speculation that the up-and-coming fighter had the goods to give Mayweather a run for his money. 

Pacquiao, on the other hand, has been close to obscurity lately. His rematch with Timothy Bradley, which had the built-in storyline of PacMan looking for revenge from a controversial loss, lost nearly 100,000 buys from the 890,000 the first bout had. 

This fight on May 2 could have no more promotion following the original announcement that the contract had been signed and do double what either fighter's most recent match did. 

Yet in terms of mainstream relevance, it's obvious that Mayweather and Pacquiao had no choice than to put aside their past differences. Boxing has got a hardcore fanbase, yet it can only make a dent with casual sports fans if it feels like there is a must-see event. 

Mayweather recently had that in the Alvarez fight, and the returns were off the charts. Pacquiao hasn't had that kind of buzz since his last fight with Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012. 

It also helps the potential buyrate that casual fans likely won't get an opportunity to see the fight in person. To get ringside seats, you need to have a vast fortune just to get considered, per Scott Spreitzer of ESPN 1100:

So if you have an extra $250,000 sitting around with nothing to do on the first weekend in May, you can use it at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas with the hopes that your name will get called to buy ringside tickets. 

Since most people reading this don't have that kind of cash, you may want to sit far away just to say that you were in the building for this historic moment. 

Good luck with that plan. 

According to ESPN's Dan Rafael, in a best-case scenario, there may be 1,000 tickets made available to the public and may cost $1,000 for the worst seats:

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The highest-priced tickets are expected to have a record face value of $5,000, with the cheapest ticket being $1,000. However, with such heavy demand for tickets from the promoters, networks and casino (which all have to pay for tickets), it is doubtful more than a few hundred, maybe 1,000 tickets will be offered for public sale. If there is a public sale, no date has been announced.

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There are always avenues for fans to explore if they really want tickets, like Stubhub, but those prices are going to be well above face value because the demand for this fight is so high. 

This may not be the best time for Mayweather and Pacquiao to meet for what could potentially be just a one-off fight. That was probably back when their original negotiations started in late 2009, as both were in the prime of their careers and drawing power. 

Now, some five-plus years later, Mayweather and Pacquiao are in their late 30s and nearing the end of their careers. Both still have little problem defeating the inferior competition presented to them, but this may not be the best representation of their respective skills the way it would have been all those years ago. 

Instead, what fans are getting is the marquee event they want at a time when neither Mayweather or Pacquiao could do anything else that would generate even half of what this matchup will. It's their one final chance to cash in bigger than they ever have, while being able to put some semblance of rest to the debate over who the greatest fighter from this generation is. 

The 2015 version of Mayweather and Pacquiao isn't the best of either fighter, yet it's the perfect moment for each to remind everyone that they can still draw a crowd like few in the sports world can. Hopefully the fight lives up to the hype.