Case $8\mathrm{.}3.$ The Mayweather $$Fight$$ and Ticket Holders

It was advertised as $$The Fight of the Century$$ and the $$Battle for Greatness,$$ Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather. No one is clear whether the promoters meant the century as the past $100$ years or just the $15$ years that had elapsed into our century at the time the right was being promoted. It was also called the fight everyone wants to see. That statement was probably true when the two fighters were in their prime, but two agents and boxers went back and forth for six years trying to schedule the fight, so the claim needed a time disclosure, but $$Six Years Ago This Was the Fight of the Century$$ was awkward.

The fight itself, for which viewers paid $$100$ per household, Mayweather won on a unanimous decision: $116-112,116-112,$ and $118-110.$ Mayweather landed $148$ punches of $435$ and Pacquiao landed $81$ of $429.$ Pacquiao usually throws $700$ punches in a fight. There may have been an explanation. After the fight, Forbes reported that Pacquiao had torn his rotator cuff. The injury was not listed on his Nevada State Athletic Commission disclosure form, but Pacquiao did ask to have a non$-$narcotic painkiller injected into his shoulder prior to the fight. The Commission denied the request because the officials do not want pain masked because of the risk of long$-$term damage. The injury and the lack of painkiller combined was one explanation for his reduced punch attempts. Mayweather had an IV of saline, multivitamins, and vitamin C administered at home before the fight, but the Commission did not learn of the IV fluids until after the fight. Nevada rules do not permit such IVs unless they are performed at a hospital.

Fans found the fight to be disappointing. Fans had paid $$410$ million in pay$-$per$-$view fees to watch the fight, which was the highest pay$-$per$-$view event in U$.$S$.$ television. The fans were not told prior to the fight that one fighter was ailing. However, the payout for the fighters was remarkable: $$180$ million for Mayweather and $$120$ million for Pacquiao. Two Las Vegas residents filed a class$-$action suit for the failure to disclose the Pacquiao injury prior to the event. The lawsuit includes this claim:

The match was touted as the richest fight in boxing history and one of the most anticipated bouts of all times.... As it turns out, however, the bout was not fair for the paying public. Indeed, rather than receiving access to view a competitive and entertaining match, consumers who ordered the fight on pay$-$per$-$view were witness to a complete sham.

Discussion Questions

List the ethical issues and categories that you see in the case.

What decision points were there in the case? How did the decisions made affect the eventual outcome of the bout?

Is the term $$Fight of the Century$$ just puffing? Is there a claim that can be made for sales puffery?