FIGHT OF THE CENTURY: Floyd Mayweather takes on Manny Pacquiao, in the most anticpated boxing bout of this century on Sunday morning, Abdul-Nasser Ssemugabi found out who Ugandan celebs support.
The mega-fight between world superweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr and challenger Manny Pacquiao interests almost everyone the world over.
International celebrities like Jamie Foxx, Tom Brady, P Diddy, Mark Walberg, Shaquille O’Neal, Khloe Kardashian, etc, have not only already secured their tickets to the MGM Grand Arena for the super duel on Sunday morning but also taken sides. We asked our celebs: Are you Team Pacman or on The Money Team?
Bebe Cool
I am rooting for Pacquiao because he is playing as an underdog. Throughout his career, he has worked so hard for a fight like this and I know he can give it his best and upset the champion. I side with underdogs because I too started as one until I proved to you my worth.
Cedric Babu (CEO Kinetic Management Group)
It will be very interesting if Manny Pacquiao wins because a Mayweather victory is a bit of a cliché. Mayweather has been very successful yet Pacquiao has had some bad luck in some of his fights. Pacquiao is a good ambassador of the sport … and he has done a lot for his people. I want such a person to win.
Bobi Wine
Who do I support? I am in a dilemma … Pacman’s story of rags to riches resonates with mine. His victory will be a ghetto people’s victory. Floyd’s story depicts a Black man beating all odds to triumph in a racist world. So his win will give Blacks more confidence. Technically, Floyd is unbeaten and he has beaten all those that beat Pacman. There is a (proven) blueprint on how to beat Pacman yet there is none on Floyd. So Floyd might as well take this one.
Juliana Kanyomozi
I am for Mayweather all the way. Come the moment, there is no doubt he will finish Pacquiao. He is a great fighter, you know.
Moses Golola (kickboxer)
Both Pacquiao and Mayweather are good boxers but I prefer Mayweather. He will win this bout because he has got the best boxing style; his punches are strong enough and he is very talented. I want to see Blacks ruling the world of boxing.
David Obua (former Cranes)
Of course I support Mayweather. Because if you talk like Mayweather and when you come to the ring you do the walking like Mayweather does it, then you have to be the best. If you cannot walk the talk, then you are Pacquiao (laughs).
Hannington Bugingo (Comedian)
Of course Mayweather… because he is undefeated. Yet Pacquiao has lost many times against almost the same opponents Mayweathwer has defeated. Plus, Mayweather being taller has more reach. He also has the best defence in the game. So I score it 70-30 in favour of Mayweather.
Pacquiao the politician and basketballer
Emmanuel “Manny” Dapidran Pacquiao, born December 17, 1978) is a Filipino world champion professional boxer.
He is the first and only world champion who has won 10 world titles in eight divisions, as well as the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. According to Forbes, he was the 14th highest paid athlete in the world as of 2013.
He was named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s (decade) by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA), World Boxing Council (WBC) and World Boxing Organization (WBO).
He is the current WBO welterweight champion and is ranked number three on The Ring pound-for-pound list.
He was long rated as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by some sporting news and boxing websites, including ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Sporting Life, Yahoo! Sports, About.com, BoxRec and The Ring from his climb to Lightweight until his losses in 2012.
Outside the ring
Beyond boxing, Pacquiao has participated in basketball, business, acting, music recording and politics. In May 2010, he was elected to the House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines, representing the province of Sarangani. He was re-elected in 2013 to the 16th Congress of the Philippines.
Pacquiao is also the head coach of the basketball team Kia Sorento in his home country. At 36, he also played seven minutes of one of the team’s games and is thus a professional basketball player. He is also the shortest basketballer in his country. Pacquiao also owns a team in the Phillipines Basketball Association Developmental League, the MP Hotel Warriors.
Profiles
Full name: Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Nickname(s): Pretty Boy, Money, TBE (The Best Ever)
Nationality: American
Height: 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)
Division: Welterweight
Born: February 24, 1977 (age 38)
Stance: Orthodox
Record: 47 (26 Kos) wins- 0 losses
He is a five-division world champion
Trainer: Floyd Mayweather Sr (dad).
Promotion: Mayweather Promotions
Net worth: $280m
Estimated earnings from the fight: $200m
Twitter followers: 5.8 million
Facebook likes: 9.8 million
Outside boxing: Boss of The Money Team (TMT)
Full name: Emmanuel “Manny” Dapidran Pacquiao
Nationality: Filipino
Nickname(s): The Nation’s Fist, The Destroyer, National Godfather, Fighting Pride of the Philippines, The Fighting Congressman.
Born: December 17, 1978 (age 36).
Stance: Southpaw (left-handed)
Height; 5 ft 6 1?2 in (169 cm)
Division: Welterweight
Record: 57 (38Kos) wins-5 losses-2 draws.
Trainer: Freddie Roach.
Promotion: Top Rank Promotions.
Net worth: $120m.
Estimated earnings from the fight: $120m.
Twitter followers: 1.8 million.
Facebook likes: 6.7 million.
Outside boxing: Congressman, basketballer.
Floyd loves to flaunt his money
Floyd Mayweather, Jr (born Floyd Joy Sinclair; February 24, 1977) is an American professional boxer. He is currently undefeated as a professional and is a five-division world champion, having won 10 world titles and the lineal championship in four different weight classes.
He is also rated as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by many sporting news and boxing websites.
Floyd Mayweather, Jr’s nickname is “Money” for a good reason. He is practically made of cash. He topped the Forbes and Sports Illustrated lists of the 50 highest-paid athletes of 2012 and 2013, and the Forbes list again in 2014. According to Forbes, the flamboyant boxing legend made more than $105m (about Shs315b) in 2014 alone. And boy, does he know how to spend it!
Floyd’s Instagram account provides a fascinating insight into the life of the world-champion boxer.
Often described as the world’s best pound-for-pound fighter, the multi-millionaire athlete is not afraid to hide his obsession with wealth and things. Mayweather regularly posts pictures of himself with extravagant purchases and outlandish mounds of cash.
In one of the photos, Mayweather stands in front of his “toy world”, which contains at least seven supercars and a private jet. His car collection is believed to total around $8.4m (about Shs25b).
Mayweather claims his watch collection is worth $6.4m (about Shs19.2b).
He has made apparel off his “Money” nickname with two clothing labels TMT (The Money Team) and TBE (The Best Ever). He has made cameo appearances in several movies as well as TV shows like Dancing With The Stars.
Fight trivia
* Estimated revenue from the fight: $400m
*$250,000: Bet between Diddy and Mark Wahlberg on the winner. (Diddy has Mayweather; Wahlberg took Pac-Man).
*$1.6m: Amount 50 Cent is betting on Mayweather.
