Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao is on - cheapest seat a bargain $8,000

It is finally here, folks. Floyd Mayweather v Manny Pacquiao. Has there ever been a sporting event quite like this?

While millions will tune in to watch the fight on pay-per-view, only the wealthy will be fortunate enough to be ringside for the most lucrative fight in boxing history.

Ticket prices are apparently starting at $8,000 for a spot among the cheap seats at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Sport just doesn't getting any better than this. This is probably the closet we've got in this day and age to the great fights of the past. A bit like Muhammad Ali against Joe Frazier. Or Ali against Sonny Liston. Or Ali against anybody.

It recalls the great era of the 1970s and 1980s when Sugar Ray Leonard, Tommy Hearns, Marvin Hagler and Roberto Duran used to do battle with each other. Seemingly every week. Wouldn't it be great if this wasn't the last fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao, but merely the first of a best-of-three?

But there is no certainty Floyd 'Money' Mayweather's 0 is going to 0. Let us just enjoy May 2 for what it is. The fight of the century? Most definitely. The biggest sporting event in history? According to some on the Twittersphere, quite possibly.

Mayweather opened as an almost 3-1 favourite. "Outside of the Super Bowl, this could be the single biggest wagering event we've ever had," said Jay Kornegay, Westgate Las Vegas sports book director, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. This year's Super Bowl drew a handle of almost $116 million in Nevada.

[RELATED: How Mayweather v Pacquiao was finally made, and what happens next]

This tweet was from a real legend. Six-times world champion & Olympic gold medalist, Sugar Ray Leonard.

Britain's former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis compares 'making' the fight to the time he organised a date with Mike Tyson back in the early noughties.

Amir Khan shared Lewis's enthusiasm for the big fight.

Richest fight in history to shatter pay-per-view records

The fight will undoubtedly set a new record for pay-per-view buys with an early Forbes magazine estimate of a $250-million gross.

Mayweather has posted six pay-per-view hits of at least 1 million and holds the records the current record for most subscriptions with 2.4 million in the Oscar de la Hoya fight in 2007 and the highest gross of $150 million in the Saul Alvarez bout in 2013. Mayweather won both fights by decision, a split over De la Hoya and a majority over Alvarez.

He’s the only fighter to register two pay-per-view fights of at least 2 million buys, with De la Hoya at 2.4 million and Alvarez at 2.2 million.

Pacquiao’s resume shows five pay-per-view hits of at least 1 million but none over 2 million. His biggest-earning fight was against Sugar Shane Mosley in 2011, generating 1.3 million hits and a gross of $75 million.

Of the top 10 highest pay-per-view grossers, Mayweather accounts for three with Alvarez at $150 million, De la Hoya at $136 million and Miguel Cotto at $94 million. The Pacquiao-Mosley fight is the ninth highest grosser in history.

While there is still no announcement of the pay-per-view prices, it is speculated that the high definition subscription with two undercard aperitifs will go for $110 and the standard rate will be $99.95.

In the UK, meanwhile, a bidding war between broadcasters Sky, BT, BoxNation and ITV could see the pay-per-view price rise to as much as £65 ($100).

With such sums being touted, it is easy to see why Mayweather is expected to earn $150m with his opponent earning $100m in the $250m super fight.

Meanwhile, MGM Grand announced that within three minutes of the fight confirmation, all the 6,852 rooms in the hotel complex were sold out.

Original post by the Pugilist (Yahoo Eurosport)