Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez hope to unite the stately leaders the United States of America and Mexico by inviting their respective Presidents Barack Obama and Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa to their Saturday, July 18 Mayweather vs. Marquez: "Number One/Numero Uno," mega-fight at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. The bout will be broadcast live on HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
"It would be amazing to have President Obama ringside for my fight," said Mayweather. "With all of these patriotic holidays coming up, and the fact that I met him when he was campaigning to become President, I wanted to extend an invitation to the fight as my congratulations for his knock-out victory."
"President Calderon is a true statesman for our country and it would be an honor for me to have him come to the fight," said Marquez. "Mayweather is the biggest challenge of my career and having my president there to witness my victory that night would be bigger than the victory itself."
In addition to the Presidents, Mayweather has also invited Senator Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Senate Majority Leader and a long-standing supporter and fan of the sweet science, to the fight. Reid also hosted Mayweather on Capitol Hill after the fighter's triumph over Oscar de la Hoya in May 2007.
Mayweather vs. Marquez -"Number One/Numero Uno," is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions in association with Marquez Promotions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and Southwest Airlines. The 12-round welterweight bout will take place July 18th at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The Mayweather vs. Marquez pay-per-view telecast, beginning at 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT, has a suggested retail price of $49.95, will be produced and distributed by HBO Pay-Per-View® and will be available to more than 71 million pay-per-view homes. The telecast will be available in HD-TV for those viewers who can receive HD. HBO Pay-Per-View®, a division of Home Box Office, Inc., is the leading supplier of event programming to the pay-per-view industry. For Mayweather vs. Marquez fight week updates, log on to www.hbo.com.
Tickets priced at $1,000, $750, $600 and $300, not including applicable service charges, are on sale now. Ticket sales at $1,000, $750, $600 and $300 are limited to a total ticket limit of 10 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800)745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.
HBO's Emmy®-Award-winning all-access reality series "24/7" returns to HBO® with an all new edition as "Mayweather/Marquez 24/7" premieres Saturday, June 27 at 9:30 p.m. The four-episode series will chronicle the preparations and back stories of both fighters as they train for their July 18 pay-per-view showdown.