Floyd-Manny conference set for L.A.

story>>>>> http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/12410562/floyd-mayweather-jr-manny-pacquiao-appear-news-conference-march-11

With the deal for the long-awaited Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao megafight signed, the top two boxers in the world will meet to officially kick off the promotion for the fight that most believe will shatter every box-office record in boxing history.

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How Mayweather-Pacquiao was made Story

Mayweather and Pacquiao, who will meet to unify their welterweight world titles May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in the main event of a historic joint pay-per-view between Showtime and HBO, will appear together on March 11 for the only time until fight week.

They will meet at a news conference at a location to be determined in Los Angeles, organizers announced Monday.

Although the event is not open to the public, it is sure to draw fans hoping to catch a glimpse of the fighters. It is also expected to draw such a large contingent of reporters that media members must apply for credentials to be admitted to the news conference, which is unusual.

The fight, five-plus years in the making, was finalized Feb. 20 when Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) posted a photo of his signed contract to one of his social media platforms. It was the last piece of the puzzle to getting the deal done.

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@MiamiHeat/TwitterFloyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will meet at a news conference in Los Angeles on March 11.

Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs), who had already been doing light training in the Philippines, arrived in the United States for training camp Saturday night, a week earlier than originally planned. Pacquiao trainer Freddie Roach is in Macau preparing two-time Chinese Olympic gold medalist Zou Shiming for his flyweight world title shot against Thailand's Amnat Ruenroeng on Saturday.

So Pacquiao will train with Roach's assistants for the week. Roach will be back at his Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California, early next week to begin training Pacquiao for the fight and to attend the news conference.

Mayweather has been training as usual at his gym in Las Vegas.

With the deal coming together later than usual for a major May pay-per-view and the fight having attracted gobs of attention for years before it was even made, organizers did not feel it was necessary to launch a cross-country media tour to promote the bout, opting instead for the one media event in Los Angeles and one more news conference in Las Vegas a few days before the fight.

So detailed is the contract for the fight that it spelled out that the boxers were obligated to participate in only two news conferences leading up to the bout.

How much will it charge to watch Pacquiao vs Mayweather on (ppv) pay per view TV?

MANNY PACQUIAO I'M RETIRING From Singing ...

Big announcement from Manny Pacquiao -- the boxing champ says his singing career is OVER ... telling us, "I love music, but I don't think music loves me." 

Manny appeared on "TMZ Hollywood Sports" on Reelz (Mon-Fri 6PM ET, 3PM PT) and broke heartbreaking news ... telling us there won't be a follow-up to his two wildly successful albums.  

"I stopped singing," Manny says ... "I like singing. I love music ... but I don't think music loves me."

Manny -- who's promoting his new documentary "Manny" -- says he's still very proud of his musical accomplishments ... saying, "My first album was platinum in the Philippines, so that's good enough."

Hopefully, he'll change his mind ...  -news www.tmz.com

Manny Pacquiao busy with acting career

MANILA PACQUIAO, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao continues with his hard training not for his scheduled May 2 bout with UK boxer Ricky Hatton but in a tv series set to air this month.

Manny, the Philippines boxing icon, is among the big name stars in cast of GMA’s new action/adventure TV series “Totoy Bato", which premiers on February 23 in the Telebabad time slot of the Kapuso network.

The series is headed by a stellar cast led by action star Robin Padilla, Asia’s songbird Regine Velasquez and award-winning actor/director Eddie Garcia.

Pacquiao, who is excited in his first TV series, said he wants to give justice to his character since his co-stars are big names in the entertainment industry.

Several members of Team Pacquiao, like chief of staff Jayke Joson and financial consultant Eric Pineda, will also have cameo roles in the said TV series.

In the series, Pacquiao plays a boxer that whom Garcia trained and then became a boxing superstar.

Despite all the accomplishments Pacquiao’s character had achieved he doesn’t forget the training he received from Garcia, whom he rewarded with money to start building a new gym to help train young boxers.

Pacquiao is set to leave for the US later this month to start the promotional tour and begin training for his May 2 match with Hatton. – GMANews

Manny Pacquiao's humble beginnings | Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho