Team Pacquiao vs. The Money Team: Who Is Hollywood Pulling For?
This Saturday, after six years of "will they or won't they" speculation, boxing superstars Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will square off in the highly anticipated Fight of the Century in Las Vegas. The event is being broadcast on pay-per-view, and any boxing fan who wants to watch will have to pony up just under $100 for the privilege.
While most of the conversation about the fight this week will focus on each fighter's strengths and weaknesses and strategy in the ring, one factor that shouldn't be ignored has nothing to do with training or jabs.
I'm talking about who has the biggest stable of celebrity friends in their corner.
Mayweather is the pound-for-pound king and one of the top earners in sports; Pacquiao has earned millions over his own career and even more in endorsements. Before the two fighters set a date for the first truly must-see boxing match in what seems like forever, both had the ingredients essential for celebrity schmoozing—money and fame.
So, before the bell rings and Mayweather vs. Pacquiao officially gets underway, wet your whistle with a celebrity-pal Battle Royal: Team Pacquiao vs. The Money Team.
Justin Bieber
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Let's just get this one out of the way right now. There's no secret when it comes to where Justin Bieber's allegiances lie.
#TMT
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The Biebs is so close to Floyd Money on fight night that he may as well be the official mascot of The Money Team (TMT). This time around, Bieber will once again escort Mayweather to the ring at the MGM.
Paris Hilton
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Ugh. Sorry to bring up the national stain known as Paris Hilton here, but unfortunately she has a horse in this race, so that means she has to make this list. Think of her as America’s answer to the Canadian stain known as Justin Bieber.
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#TeamPacquiao
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Aging socialite Paris Hilton’s allegiance to Team Pacquiao dates back (at least) to 2011, when she gave an interview in Dubai, discussing her close friendship with Pacquiao and his wife, Jinkee.
Though the article mentions the two first met in 2009, these days, Hilton is still firmly on Team Pacquiao.
Sylvester Stallone
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Recently, actor Sylvester Stallone, best known for playing boxer Rocky Balboa in a painfully unending series of movies that shouldn’t have even been a trilogy, decided to take a side before the fight.
Robert Duvall
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In one of the weirder celebrity sightings, 84-year-old actor Robert Duvall decided to get in on the action recently by visiting one of the fighters' training facilities. But just whom did Duvall visit?
#TeamPacquiao
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So…Robert Duvall…who probably hasn’t been in a movie you’ve seen in 10-15 years, is a Pacquiao fan. According to various reports in March, Duvall stopped by Pac-Man’s HQ to wish him well in his upcoming fight.
It doesn’t seem that Duvall has become too invested in the bout, but the fact that he took the time to meet up with Pacquiao and not Mayweather is enough to easily classify him as #TeamPacquiao.
Mariah Carey
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Singer Mariah Carey just began a residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas that will last at least 18 concerts. Perhaps Sin City provides a clue as to where Carey comes down in this bout.
Tim Tebow
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Considering what we know about the pious one, Tim Tebow, and what we know about the domestic violence one, Mayweather, it’s hard to imagine these two fellas would end up on the same team. Then again, one never knows!
#TeamPacquiao
12 of 40Duh. Of course Tebow is #TeamPacquiao. Much like many of these celebrity “relationships,” Tebow and Pacquiao didn’t have much (if any) association with each other prior to the announcement of the fight.
But in March the two got together during one of Pac-Man’s training sessions at Wild Card gym in Los Angeles, and Tebow took a shine to the boxer. As is evident by the caption under the photos posted on Instagram (one above and this one, "Awesome being with my Filipino and Christian brother," the pair bonded over their shared Christian faith.
Ronda Rousey
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The biggest name in UFC and one of the biggest female athlete superstars in the world, bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey recently visited a Los Angeles training facility. But whose facility was it?
#TeamPacquiao
14 of 40Right now Rousey is all about the Pac-Man, having tweeted after their meeting: “Truly honored to meet such a humble and genuine person. Thank you @MannyPacquiao for welcoming us into your home.”
If those are qualities she’s looking for in a human being, we know for sure she’s not going to end up on #TMT. Rousey is #TeamPacquiao all the way.
Tom Brady
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Ridiculously handsome and irritatingly successful NFL quarterback Tom Brady is coming off his fourth Super Bowl win with the New England Patriots. While he tries to put football out of his mind during the offseason, he’s expected to attend the big fight May 2. But in which corner will Tommy Terrific sit?
#TMT
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Apparently, Brady is a VIP member of #TMT. According to Sports Illustrated's Greg Bishop, Brady and Mayweather are friendly enough to have maintained semi-regular communication and regular enough that the two have even FaceTimed together.
Brady has also reportedly been able to skip a few channels in the past to score seats to a big fight, going straight to CBS President Les Moonves, according to Scott Rafferty of Sporting News.
Keanu Reeves
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Before you even say it, let’s address the elephant in the room. Nobody cares who actor Keanu Reeves is supporting in anything…anywhere. But whatever, he’s on the list, and we’re all just going to have to deal with it.
#TeamPacquiao
18 of 40It’s not like they have a long history together—Keanu and Manny weren’t clubbing together back in the Point Break days or anything—but a visit to Pacquiao at his training facility is more than enough to put Bill (or Ted) solidly on #TeamPacquiao.
The two visited for a bit, and apparently Reeves asked “the fighter to join his new television show,” per GMANetwork.com. There's no word on what the new TV show is, but something tells me it’s going to be terrible.
Stephen Curry
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Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry has been photographed with both Mayweather and Pacquiao in the past, although he does seem to have developed a clear preference between the two.
#TeamPacquiao
20 of 40In late March, Curry signed a jersey for Pacquiao. The boxer is a fan of Curry’s as well and has even played a little ball at the Warriors’ practice facility.
A few days later he also posed for a photo op with Pac-Man’s sons, Jimuel and Michael. From what we’ve seen, Curry and Pac-Man seem to have some sort of mutual fandom and respect for each other, and Curry has done nothing to show he’s repping anything other than #TeamPacquiao.
Bill Maher
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Comedian Bill Maher, host of HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, actually doesn’t seem to have a strong allegiance to either side, but he’s been mentioned as a member of a certain team based on his prediction.
#TMT
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As for Maher’s prediction, it was Mayweather all the way. Since he doesn’t seem to have a vested interest in the sport or these fellas either way, let’s just say that’s good enough to put him (not so solidly) on #TMT.
If nothing else, people always want to be right. And anyone who has ever watched Maher's show knows there are few, if any, things he enjoys more.
Michael Strahan
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Newly inducted Hall of Fame defensive end Michael Strahan gets to meet all the celebs as co-host of the ABC morning show Live! with Kelly and Michael. Just because he knows how to play nice with everyone doesn’t mean he hasn’t picked a side on this one.
#TMT
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Strahan had a lot of fun clowning around with Mayweather when the fighter visited his show in September 2013. And last July they looked friendly together backstage at the Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Sports Awards.
When Showtime recently asked Strahan whom he thought would win the fight, he said (via The Washington Post), “Mayweather, he’s an artist.” Obviously, we’re talking about a serious member of #TMT.
Jimmy Kimmel
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Unlike Mayweather and Pacquiao, ABC’s late night host Jimmy Kimmel isn’t known for pulling any punches. Over just the last couple of weeks he’s been palling around with one of these guys, and it seems a full-on bromance may have ignited.
#TeamPacquiao
26 of 40During a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Kimmel decided to hit up Pac-Man for a job in his entourage, just so he could score a pair of tickets to the fight. Who knows where they ended up with the entourage stuff, but Kimmel also asked if he could sing the song that played as Pacquiao entered the ring—and surprisingly, he said yes!
The dynamic duo performed a duet to “Lalaban Ako Para Sa Filipino,” which Pac-Man had already recorded himself. Nobody knows how serious these two are, but there’s at least a chance Kimmel could join Pacquiao at the MGM on fight night, much the same way Bieber has been known to accompany Mayweather.
Jamie Foxx
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Actor Jamie Foxx is actually going to be singing the national anthem ahead of the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout at the MGM Grand. That, of course, doesn’t mean he’s entirely impartial.
Jeremy Lin
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With the Lakers having gone home early this season—and by early we’re talking about last October—point guard Jeremy Lin has had some time on his hands recently. He’s been making nice with one of our fighters, but which one?
#TeamPacquiao
30 of 40Just because Lin has been hanging with the Pac-Man in recent weeks, it doesn’t mean he’s a bandwagon guy. During the peak of “Linsanity” in February 2012, Lin went on record, declaring himself a “huge fan” of Pacquiao. And guess what, it didn’t go unnoticed by Mayweather, who had some characteristically crappy things to say about the situation.
In November 2014, Lin, for some reason, imitated Pacquiao’s Foot Locker commercial, which was supposedly part of a week of greatness. Most recently, in mid-April, Lin stopped by Pacquiao’s training facility in Los Angeles. And just to lock down his status on #TeamPacquiao, he took a shot at Mayweather in the process.
Warren Buffett
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Judging by the many photos across the Web, it seems billionaire Warren Buffett is a bandwagon-type sports fan on par with Drake.
So when it comes to the years-in-the-making Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, it may just come down to whose bandwagon is solid gold and encrusted with diamonds.
#TMT (Maybe?)
32 of 40This one is actually a bit less clear than most of our other celebrity solidarity stuff. According to Mayweather, during a visit with Buffett last September the two had one hell of a meeting, in which Buffett talked about investments and Mayweather mostly just bragged about his car collection—just a guess.
It sure seemed like Buffett, who donned a TMT hat in a selfie with Mayweather, had been initiated as a member of #TMT. A few weeks later it seemed Buffett had finally been filled in on Mayweather’s entire career and immediately began backing off some of the commitments he allegedly made during that meeting.
That being said, he was photographed in full TMT gear, which means Buffett is a member of the team.
Nicki Minaj
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Rapper Nicki Minaj isn’t known to be much of a sports fan. Although she sits courtside at Lakers or Knicks games, most of those seats aren’t for fans anyway. That being said, there is, of course, the chance that Minaj’s loyalties could be bought.
#TMT
34 of 40Minaj is most definitely a member of #TMT, emphasis on money. Mayweather might think she’s the best female rapper in the game, but compliments don’t pay the bills! Money pays the bills, and Floyd ponied up $50,000 in cold, hard cash for Minaj to make an appearance at his daughter’s 14th birthday party in May 2014.
She didn’t even have to perform—just show up! Although there might be some real weird jewelry-related beef going on between Minaj and Mayweather’s lady of the moment, it's probably going to take more than that to knock Minaj off the Money train.
50 Cent
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Last year, rapper 50 Cent posted a video (with NSFW language) to Instagram, challenging feuding frenemy Mayweather to publicly read a single page of a Harry Potter book, pledging a pretty penny to the charity of Money’s choice if he did.
The insinuation was that Mayweather couldn't read, which ended up being an embarrassing story with legs. The former BFFs have been fighting on and off for years, so does that mean 50 has finally jumped ship?
#TMT
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Whatever these two fellas are fighting about in a given moment, the truth is that their friendship is deep enough to overcome the feuds. That is really saying something because things between 50 and Floyd Money have gotten nasty at times.
But just recently the rapper announced the longtime beef with the boxer had been squashed, with 50 referring to Mayweather as his “brother.” The two have buried the hatchet and are absolutely on the same team: #TMT.
David Hasselhoff
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You know if anything is happening in the world—ya know, like the Berlin Wall being torn down—German favorite David Hasselhoff is gonna be right there in the middle of it. He may not be invited. He may not be wanted. He may not even know exactly what’s going on.
But The Hoff is going to try to get his name on the list. So, naturally he has a stake in the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout, the biggest fight in forever.
#TMT
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Hasselhoff would probably be on whichever team gave him the opportunity to grasp futilely at relevance, and it just so happened #TMT provided that opportunity. Who knows if Hasselhoff is even a boxing fan, but for some reason he volunteered to report live from Mayweather’s camp in Las Vegas, and USA Today took him up on the offer.
According to TMZ Sports, though, the only one being hassled was Floyd Money, by The Hoff, who supposedly “hijacked” a media event and even got a little one-on-one time with the boxer. Hasselhoff is also picking Mayweather to win the fight but appreciates the “guts” of Pacquiao.
Adriana Lima
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One of the two boxers is lucky enough to count Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima, still one of the most beautiful women in the world, as a member of his team.
#TeamPacquiao
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In advance of her starring appearance in a Kia commercial ahead of the Super Bowl in February 2012, Lima said, “My sports dream is to spar three rounds with Manny Pacquiao. I am obsessed with boxing and watch all of his fights,” per Zach McCann of ESPN.com.
Approximately 18 months later, Lima got to live her dream, or some version of it, when she trained with her hero, Pacquiao, ahead of his fight with Brandon Rios. The video went viral, and Pac-Man became the envy of even more men.
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