At least for one glittering night on Saturday, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will put boxing back on the cultural map.
"Fight of the Century" Other bouts have been called, but in a sport that once made regular front-page news it has been years since one so captured the imagination of people who are not boxing fans.
Mayweather declared this week in a spurt of hyperbole that, this is the biggest fight in boxing history.
At the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the welterweight clash is a hot topic on social media.
Revenue perhaps reaching $400m and pay-per-view purchases surging towards three million; gate receipts of $70m; all adding up to what could be $200m for Mayweather and over $100m for Pacquiao. The massive interest has been fueled by the big financial figures surrounding the fight.
The WBC and WBA titles has been put on the line by Mayweather, 38, and Pacquiao, 36, defends his WBO belt. The fight should be an intriguing clash of styles between men of contrasting personalities.
Eight weight division titles has been held by the southpaw Pacquiao, an aggressive southpaw, famous for fighting toe-to-toe and one of the hardest punches in the division.
The elusive Mayweather is the only fighter that can neutralize his attack, a consummate craftsman with vast ring know-how and the patience to use it.
Mayweather has proved his ability to make mid-fight adjustments. He has beaten eight southpaws, including Zab Judah.
The American is known for a defensive style that critics say could be boring, but Pacquiao and his trainer, Freddie Roach, expect him to try to make the most of his size advantage by engaging early in search of a knockout.
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