Undefeated WBC/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. is shown onstage Tuesday, April 28, 2015, at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mayweather will face WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao in a welterweight unification bout at the arena Saturday.
Thursday, April 30, 2015 | 4:04 p.m.
If MGM Grand were not already hued in green, it would be repainted that color for Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao bout at Grand Garden Arena. Money is what sets this fight apart, and the financial figures attached to the night are as dizzying as a Mayweather combination.
Consider the $16 million timepiece awaiting Mayweather at the Jewelers of Las Vegas. This is the famous family-owned bauble retailer founded in 1976 by Mordechai and Vicki Yerushalmi. It has expanded to multiple locations in the city and is often the favored jewelry outlet for famous figures such as “Money” Mayweather.
The Jewelers gained local prominence when in 1976 then-champion Larry Holmes agreed to appear in TV commercials in Las Vegas touting the business’s great selection and deals. Holmes starred in ads for about seven years, and champions George Foreman and Mike Tyson joined Robert De Niro, Robert Urich (during the days of “Vega$”), Liberace and Wayne Newton.
Mordechai sold a ring to Elvis, and a copy of the King’s check for $5,368, issued Dec. 2, 1976, is displayed on the company’s website. Mayweather is certainly in such haughty company.
The $16 million watch was procured specifically for him by Leor Yerushalmi, son of Mordechai and Vicki and an executive in the family business. As chronicled in the latest edition of Vegas Magazine, the watch is part of a set that also involves a diamond cross and matching necklace.
“He contacted us and wanted us to make him a necklace with all 3-karat round diamonds, which we designed, and we added a special Jacob & Co. watch, the only one in the world, which retails at $16 million,” Leor Yerushalmi says in this video on the Vegas website (looking on, sufficiently impressed, is Vegas Editor Andrea Bennett).
“It’s called ‘The Billionaire.’ Floyd always aspires to be a billionaire, so it’s a fitting watch.” Typically during his fights in Las Vegas (and he fights nowhere else), Mayweather visits the business the day before and day after the bout. The staff is prepared for Mayweather to show up as if dipped in a pool of jewels, or merely in sweats.
“He wears (his jewelry) everywhere. I mean, he’s not shy to wear the jewelry. There are certain days he’ll come in here, and he’s wearing nothing, he won’t wear any jewelry,” Leor says. “There are certain days he comes in and he wears everything. He always comes in right before the fight, and he always comes in right after the fight.”
Mayweather has not committed to buying this piece, which is big, blinding and befitting an athlete who stands to make $200 million for his work against Pacquiao.
Those figures, along with the $7,500 to $130,000 range for the cost of tickets on the secondary market and $1,600 room rates at MGM Grand, have set this fight apart. Those who have covered the sport for generations, jaded through that process, are nonetheless impressed by the financial windfall this bout has generated.
“The only thing that draws this much attention to it, and makes it what they call a mega-fight, is the money,” says Newark Star-Ledger sports columnist emeritus Jerry Izenberg, who is a resident of Henderson and has covered boxing since Sonny Liston was the heavyweight champ.
“It’s not the most important fight — the most important fight in history was Cain and Abel, and I don’t think there were four cents exchanged on it. But this is a big thing because of the money … that makes it interesting.
“It’s a very, very good fight, but if you look at the mega-fights, the ones I was at were Ali-Frazier I and III, Ali and Foreman, Leonard and Hearns, Leonard and Hagler, Hearns and Hagler. … These were really super, super fights. Unlike this thing, they came when both fighters were at the exact top of their game.”
Certainly, in boxing, as in life, the clock is always ticking — or in this case, the watch. And the fighter nicknamed “Money” knows where to look to keep in time.
MGM Grand, a AAA Four Diamond resort, offers 5,044 rooms and suites.
MGM Grand features KÀ by Cirque du Soleil; Brad Garrett’s Comedy Club; and world-class entertainment at the Grand Garden Arena and Hollywood Theatre.
The resort offers signature restaurants by celebrity chefs including Tom Colicchio’s Craftsteak, Emeril Lagasse’s New Orleans Fish House, Wolfgang Puck’s Bar & Grill and Michelin three star and Forbes Five Star restaurant, Joël Robuchon.
As part of its ongoing “Grand Renovation,” MGM Grand has remodeled all rooms and suites in its main tower and is adding several new experiences to its lineup including Hakkasan Las Vegas Restaurant and Nightclub, a new upscale dining/nightlife concept (coming in April 2013).
MGM Grand also features a state-of-the-art, non-smoking conference center, the Grand Spa, Cristophe Salon, "CSI: The Experience" and an inviting pool complex featuring the tantalizing daylife of Wet Republic.
Upscale accommodations include The Mansion, an exclusive hotel within the hotel; the luxurious two-story SKYLOFTS at MGM Grand; and The Signature at MGM Grand, a luxury all-suite, non-gaming hotel located adjacent to the main resort.
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWiththeDish.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy