When Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao finally jumped in the ring together five years ago on May 2, 2015, the fight became the richest of all time.

Despite the money it generated -- $600 million in total -- the fight was poor in entertainment. But boxing has not seen an event bigger for global attention and money generated since, and it will remain significant for matching the best two boxers of a generation.

You’ve got more to do than could possibly get done with your current work style. You’ve prioritized.You’ve planned.You’ve delegated.You’ve tried to focus.The next frontier is increasing.

After over five years of trying to make the fight happen, the two welterweights and world champions in multiple weight divisions finally agreed to a clash to decide boxing's pound-for-pound king at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

It was one of the defining moments in boxing history, generated record amounts of money and was watched by millions around the world. But for a while, it looked like a dream fight that was impossible to make.

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Although there seems to be a lot of money there, this is a route for the long term only – it would take years to build up a business of any note, and then you’d still have to compete against the few who seem to control all the big fights. The second method, and this is much more realistic, is to become an affiliate.
Mayweather reportedly could make as much as $100 million from the fight. His contract included a guaranteed $10 million payout and 50% of all pay-per-view earnings. Logan Paul’s guarantee was $250,000 and 10% of all pay-per-view earnings. Obviously, with a nickname like Money, Floyd is going to make more. The pay-per-view sold for $49.99.

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Fight to get the fight | Making the Fight

The Fight | The Aftermath

Fight to get the fight

It all started in 2009 when Mayweather ended a brief retirement and started talking about Pacquiao. It made sense: they were both world champions in multiple weight divisions, and both had claims to be the world's best pound-for-pound boxer.

But they could not agree to a split on the money. Mayweather was not willing to go 50-50 on it, so instead the American faced Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez in September 2009.

Quotable: 'He wants a 50-50 split,' Mayweather said. 'That's never going to happen.

'If Bob Arum wasn't trying to be so greedy, that fight would happen. It still is a business even if it is a sport. Marquez called me out and he deserves a shot. If Manny Pacquiao really wanted a fight with me, all he has to do is say it. We could pay Marquez to step aside, a million dollars, step aside. Let me know.'

Drug testing debate

More talks later that year resolved the differences over money and the plan was for them to fight on March 13, 2010. But it never happened. This time due to differences over drug testing.

Mayweather insisted Pacquiao agree to Olympic-style blood-screening 30 days prior to the fight, and the fallout saw Pacquiao claim that he would file a defamation lawsuit against Mayweather for accusing him of taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Pacquiao was willing to submit to unlimited urine tests and agreed to blood tests in January and as many as two more, but no later than 30 days before the fight.

Quotable: Mayweather said after a unanimous points win over Shane Mosley in May 2010: 'If Manny Pacquiao can take a blood and urine test then we have a fight.'

Pacquiao said: 'For me, as long as the drug test is not done close to the match, I'll agree because if they'll get blood from me close to the match, it will be a disadvantage for me because I'm smaller and he's big.'

Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum said: 'He [Mayweather] can dictate all he wants, as far as Pacquiao is concerned, nobody needs him. It's delusional. It's silly.'

Pacquiao added: 'Enough is enough.

'These people, [Floyd] Mayweather Sr, Jr. and Golden Boy Promotions, think it is a joke and a right to accuse someone wrongly of using steroids or other performance-enhancing drugs. I have tried to just brush it off as a mere pre-fight ploy but I think they have gone overboard.'

Another setback

Mayweather tried again in 2012, and the pair even spoke on the phone in January 2012.

Just as progress looked like it was being made, and the court case was settled, Pacquiao got heavily knocked out in the sixth round by Marquez. It was a devastating blow for those who wanted to see Mayweather-Pacquiao happen, and it was hard to see how the fight could be made after such a knockout blow.

The two sides seemed further apart when Mayweather signed a deal with U.S. TV network Showtime, the rival of HBO that screened Pacquiao's fights. But the pair continued to go back and forth on social media.

They sparred on Twitter in September 2014, and again in January 2015, and interest -- as well as hope -- in the fight happening was alive again.

Making the Fight

Pacquiao rebuilt his career after the devastating loss to Marquez with points with wins over Brandon Rios, Tim Bradley and Chris Algieri for the WBO world welterweight title. After beating Miguel Cotto in May 2012 and Robert Guerrero a year later, Mayweather earned a majority decision over Canelo Alvarez in a big fight in September 2013.

Quotable: Pacquiao said after flooring Chris Algieri six times in an easy points win in November 2014: 'I think it's time to make that fight happen.

'The people deserve that fight. The fans deserve that fight. I want that fight. They're always denying the fight. I think the fight has to happen.'

Arum said: 'Let's get it done and let's get it done the next fight for each fighter, sometime in the first six months of next year.'

Pacquiao was not on Mayweather's list of future options before he boxed in May 2014 against Marcos Maidana, but the Pacquiao fight then came back into focus after Mayweather beat Maidana for a second time later that year.

In June 2014, CBS chief executive Leslie Moonves met Pacquiao's promoter Bob Arum about a Mayweather fight. Moonves went on to play a key role in making the fight a reality.

Both 'Pac Man' Pacquiao and 'Money' Mayweather, or 'TBE' (The Best Ever) as Mayweather called himself, were now pushing for the fight again.

Quotable: Mayweather said after a unanimous decision over Maidana in the rematch: 'I don't know who I'm fighting in May [2015] but I expect to fight in May.

'Manny Pacquiao needs to focus on the guy in front of him. If the Pacquiao fight presents itself let's make it happen.'

Talks stepped up a level in January 2015 when Arum and Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz met two of Mayweather's closest figures: his adviser Al Haymon and CEO of Mayweather Promotions Leonard Ellerbe.

Quotable: Arum said: 'We've agreed to everything, period.

'The people we have talked to on Mayweather's side have agreed to everything. Now we need Mayweather to step up and say, 'Yeah, I'm on board. I agree.'

A chance meeting

A public meeting on Jan. 28, 2015, at an NBA game in Miami, followed by a private meeting in a hotel suite the same night that lasted more than an hour, fueled speculation that the fight was about to be agreed upon.

Poor weather in Miami played a key part in the fight getting made. Pacquiao was in Miami as a judge in the Miss Universe pageant on Jan. 25, and his flight out was canceled due to the weather.

Instead, Pacquiao went to see the Miami Heat game. It just so happened that Mayweather was also at the game. They met up during halftime and agreed to meet again, afterward, in Pacquiao's hotel room. The rival champions sat next to each other as Mayweather called Stephen Espinoza, at the time the executive vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports, on Facetime to try to make it happen.

Some of the things that needed to be agreed on included revenue split (60-40 in Mayweather's favor), drug testing protocol (Mayweather's preferred random blood and urine testing

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