Coined as “The Fight of the Century”, this matchup between two of the best boxers in the world stirred up tremendous amount of hype. For weeks, advertisements, pump-up videos, and Tweets about this fight appeared on the Internet – the world was buzzing about one of the biggest sporting events of the century.

Unfortunately, the fight did not live up to its exaggerated expectation. Instead, it left viewers with an empty feeling of disappointment, as if a pet of theirs had died. In a twelve round, multimillion dollar fight that cost $100 on Pay Per View TV, there were hardly any big hits or thrilling attacks. Mayweather and Pacquiao essentially danced around the ring, strategically and tediously jabbing at each other until the twelve rounds were finished. Mayweather was crowned victorious in a unanimous decision by the judges due to the fact that he landed more punches (jabs count as punches, too) than Manny Pacquiao.  After staying up well past midnight and emptying their wallets to watch the fight, viewers were anxiously awaiting a knockout, or at least a few big punches.  Following the anticlimactic ending, fans around America heaved a sigh of disappointment, flipped off the TV, and went to bed feeling cheated.

Here is the interesting part: this fight took five years to organize. It racked in almost 400 million dollars in total revenue, which is more than twenty nine countries’ annual Gross Domestic Income. The winner of the fight took home a check for 180 million dollars. Also, the front row seats were over $800,000,000. As a sports fan looking in, this event seemed like the biggest flop of all time. However, recent findings indicate that this fight was never focused on living up to its unattainable reputation; the Mayweather VS Pacquiao was a marketing scam. Reports have recently surfaced that Manny Pacquiao tore his rotator cuff in March, explaining his lackluster performance against Floyd “Money” Mayweather. While filling out legal paper work for the fight, Pacquiao neglected to mention his injury, knowing that nobody in their right mind would pay $100 to watch a fight where Mayweather was sure to win. If the news of his shoulder injury went public, there would be no fight. Manny Pacquiao would have had to undergo surgery for his torn rotator cuff, which takes at least nine to twelve months to fully recover. This scandal could result in legal trouble for Pacquiao, as it is required that boxers disclose any information about injuries that could affect their performance in the ring. Reports were released stating that Mayweather would be willing to participate in a potential rematch with Pacquiao after his shoulder surgery – surely another publicity stunt. Hopefully, not as many people will fall for this scam the second time around.