After landing at JFK airport in New York last week, the immigration officer asked me: “What is the purpose of your visit to the United States, sir?” I responded: “I am traveling to the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight in Vegas.”
The immigration officer engaged me in a 10-minute conversation about the fight. He already had bought his pay-per-view package. His pick? Manny Pacquiao. Why? He said: “All Manny wanted for five years was this fight!”
Everyone from Al Ain to New York to Las Vegas is talking about this fight. Such colossal buzz for a boxing match was last experienced, when? For Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden in 1971? Ali versus George Foreman for the Rumble in the Jungle of 1974?
After a couple of days in beautiful Manhattan, I still was wondering about how I would get a pass for the fight. At that minute I had no official passes whatsoever; I was flying all the way to the other side of the world on a hunch.
The public-relations people organising media credentials advised me a week before that only a select few media professionals would be given a pass for the fight and a smaller group would be given a pass for the Fight Week activities.
A friend of mine got me a ticket to the official weigh-in, so I was excited to be there and experience this once-in-a-lifetime event, the richest fight in the history of boxing. I was off to bed around 10.30pm as I had the morning flight to Vegas to catch. I got an email from the organisers that my Fight Week pass had been approved from 15,000-plus requests from around the globe!
A friend sent me a message on Twitter, offering me a ticket at the very back row of the MGM Grand for the fight. The damage? US$7,600 (Dh27,900)! I passed up the opportunity and he sold the ticket the next minute. That’s how much this fight is in demand!
I arrived in Las Vegas at 1.30pm on Tuesday after a delayed flight. Floyd Mayweather’s grand arrival at the MGM Grand was just less than 90 minutes away.
I managed to get into the MGM Grand by 2.30pm and the scene there was absolutely electric. The energy was palpable. I sat just behind Floyd Mayweather Sr, Floyd’s father and trainer. He was happy to take a picture with me and chat a bit about Dubai and his son.
I ran into Alex Ariza, Floyd’s fitness coach; Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president of Showtime Sports; former WBC heavyweight champion Bermane Stiverne; and J’Leon Love, a boxer signed to Mayweather Promotions. Even Bob Arum was hanging around at the media centre tent with four cameras following him. Everyone from the boxing world was there to see Mayweather arrive at the hotel.
The lights dimmed, the Southern University marching band started a march towards the stage, as if to indicate the president had arrived and, boy, did he arrive in style!
Floyd walked down the aisle with his “TMT” (The Money Team) entourage and went up on the stage. Flashing cameras followed him and the roar from the fans made the organs in my body vibrate. He briefly thanked his children, fans and the media for supporting him throughout his career.
After addressing the crowd, who packed the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the members of the international media were invited on stage in groups to have one-on-one interview sessions with the champ. Yes, I did get my chance after waiting over an hour.
While I was waiting on stage to interview Mayweather, I had a chat with former WBC lightweight and WBA welterweight champion Adrien Broner, who was there to support his “big bro”, as he likes to call him.
We all will be back at MGM Grand on Wednesday for a media brunch and, Thursday, for the official pre-fight press conference featuring Mayweather and Pacquiao.
sports@thenational.ae
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Results
STAGE
1 . Filippo Ganna (Ineos) - 0:13:56
2. Stefan Bissegger (Education-Nippo) - 0:00:14
3. Mikkel Bjerg (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:21
4. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 0:00:24
5. Luis Leon Sanchez (Astana) - 0:00:30
GENERAL CLASSIFICATION
1. Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - 4:00:05
2. Joao Almeida (QuickStep) - 0:00:05
3. Mattia Cattaneo (QuickStep) - 0:00:18
4. Chris Harper (Jumbo-Visma) - 0:00:33
5. Adam Yates (Ineos) - 0:00:39
RESULTS
Lightweight (female)
Sara El Bakkali bt Anisha Kadka
Bantamweight
Mohammed Adil Al Debi bt Moaz Abdelgawad
Welterweight
Amir Boureslan bt Mahmoud Zanouny
Featherweight
Mohammed Al Katheeri bt Abrorbek Madaminbekov
Super featherweight
Ibrahem Bilal bt Emad Arafa
Middleweight
Ahmed Abdolaziz bt Imad Essassi
Bantamweight (female)
Ilham Bourakkadi bt Milena Martinou
Welterweight
Mohamed Mardi bt Noureddine El Agouti
Middleweight
Nabil Ouach bt Ymad Atrous
Welterweight
Nouredine Samir bt Marlon Ribeiro
Super welterweight
Brad Stanton bt Mohamed El Boukhari
Copa del Rey
Semi-final, first leg
Barcelona 1 (Malcom 57')
Real Madrid (Vazquez 6')
Second leg, February 27
Who are the Soroptimists?
The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.
The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.
Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.
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The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Essentials
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Windhoek, with a combination of Emirates and Air Namibia, cost from US$790 (Dh2,902) via Johannesburg.
The trip
A 10-day self-drive in Namibia staying at a combination of the safari camps mentioned – Okonjima AfriCat, Little Kulala, Desert Rhino/Damaraland, Ongava – costs from $7,000 (Dh25,711) per person, including car hire (Toyota 4x4 or similar), but excluding international flights, with The Luxury Safari Company.
When to go
The cooler winter months, from June to September, are best, especially for game viewing.
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
More from our Neighbourhood series:
