Mayweather vs Pacquiao: Fight is officially on for May 2

After five-plus years, many stops and starts, failed negotiations, and too much he-said, she-said to bother remembering, The Fight is finally here.

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will finally square off with one another on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with HBO and Showtime working together to present the fight on pay-per-view. Mayweather gave an official announcement Friday on Shots.  An embed of that post is below.

Mayweather (47-0, 26 KO) and Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KO) have been dancing around this fight since 2009, with only one other instance that the fight actually came close to being made, in early 2010. Instead, the fight fell apart that time over drug testing. That is no longer an issue, and after weeks of the fight supposedly being very close to a done deal, everything is now in place, with all lingering issues ironed out.

“I am very happy that Floyd Mayweather and I can give the fans the fight they have wanted for so many years,” said Pacquiao, who signed the contract for the bout Thursday per Kevin Iole. “They have waited long enough and they deserve it. It is an honor to be part of this historic event. I dedicate this fight to all the fans who willed this fight to happen and, as always, to bring glory to the Philippines and my fellow Filipinos around the world.”

Though the fight is probably happening later than anyone would have hoped, and sees the two men arguably past their peak years, it remains easily the biggest possible event in boxing, and will most likely break all PPV sales and revenue records, as well as Nevada gate records. Though it may not be what it would have been in 2010, this is still a massive event, something that no other possible pay-per-view can truly match, be it in boxing, UFC, pro wrestling, or anything else.

We’ll have much more coming tonight and probably pretty much every day leading up to the fight. Two and a half months away. We’ve finally made it.