Sky, BoxNation In $18M Battle For U.K. TV Rights To Mayweather-Pacquiao Bout

The U.K. TV rights for the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight to be decided within the week are "boiling down" to a £12M ($18.3M) battle between Sky and specialist boxing channel BoxNation, "who have covered both boxers' fights in recent years and would structure the deal in a different way to Sky," according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. Mayweather, as in "every other detail around this event, will have the final say." With the combined purse for Mayweather and Pacquiao totaling at least $250M, projections for the value of the event are rising from an initial $300M to "close on half a billion." Come May 2, all the MGM properties "will screen closed-circuit transmission" on giant screens with entrance fees reaching $200-plus (DAILY MAIL, 3/5).