Sky are reportedly on the brink of securing the broadcasting rights for the super-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao on May 2 in Las Vegas.
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Sky had been in a fierce battle with Frank Warren’s BoxNation but they are believed to be on the cusp of announcing that they have landed the rights to the most eagerly anticipated fight in boxing history, according to the Daily Mail.
It is claimed that Warren had in fact offered the higher upfront fee of a guaranteed payment, but Sky have pipped him to it by offering the promoters involved in the fight a share of their pay-per-view revenue too.
While it is expected that the price of the event will be raised compared to their usual rate, Sky don’t anticipate it being an issue given the excitement generated by the bout and they will expect purchases to eclipse anything that they achieved previously.
Mayweather and Pacquiao have been negotiating a fight for over six years as talks continually broke down between the camps over various issues including drug protocols.
However, they finally reached an agreement last month to settle their rivalry at the MGM Grand in Vegas in May, and the fight is expected to shatter numerous revenue records for gate income and pay-per-view numbers.
Warren had believed that he would have had the edge given that he has been showing Mayweather and Pacquiao fights on his channel for quite some time.
However, the financial backing that Sky possess has prevailed with many suggesting that the fight could be worth half a billion dollars in total for the respective fighters, promotional companies and broadcasters.
Both fighters are deep in training camp and after the press conference in LA just under two weeks ago, they will not meet again until fight week when things will go into overdrive around the world ahead of fight night.
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