WBC to award emerald belt to Pacquiao vs Mayweather winner

MANILA, Philippines – The World Boxing Council (WBC) will fasten an emerald green and diamond-encrusted belt around the waist of either Manny Pacquiao or Floyd Mayweather Jr at the conclusion of their much-anticipated ring encounter on May 2 (May 3 in Manila).

Headed by Mauricio Sulaiman, the title-sanctioning body recently held a public poll to choose between an unusual onyx design and the more traditional green strap, with the latter winning by 53% of the votes.

The exquisite memento is worth $1 million and comes as a bonus to the mega-fight’s winner as Mayweather is expected to receive a cold cash of $180 million, while Pacquiao is estimated to earn a 40-percent cut of $120 million.

In the past, WBC created a Diamond-version belt that the championship committee awarded to Pacquiao when he defeated Miguel Cotto via twelfth-round stoppage in November 2009.

Although the aforementioned championship title can be defended, it is not a mandatory requirement and can also be vacated in the case of a fighter’s long-term absence or retirement from the sport.

Aside from the WBC emerald-studded belt, three versions of the 147-pound top prizes will be on the line in the heavily-hyped confrontation, which takes place at the 16,800-seater MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Pacquiao stakes his World Boxing Organization welterweight belt that he reclaimed from Timothy Bradley Jr in April 2014, while Mayweather seeks to unify his WBC and World Boxing Association titles with the Filipino’s championship possession. – Rappler.com