May 02--REPORTING FROM LAS VEGAS -- Predicting the starting time of a boxing match is an inexact science, but Showtime and HBO representatives are telling reporters that Saturday night's Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Manny Pacquiao fight will begin "no earlier than 8 p.m. Pacific time and no later than 9 p.m."
There are indications that the first bell for the long-awaited fight between the sport's top two pound-for-pound fighters will start closer to 8 p.m.
First, the pay-per-view broadcast, carried jointly by both premium cable networks with HBO's Jim Lampley calling the fight and Showtime's Al Bernstein serving as analyst, will start at 6 p.m. and it has only two fights on the undercard.
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And neither of those fights may go the distance.
First, featherweight world champion Vasyl Lomachenko of Ukraine defends his belt against Puerto Rico's Gamalier Rodriguez.
Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic champion, is a wicked puncher and a big favorite over Rodriguez, the top-ranked World Boxing Organization contender.
The next bout is considered a laugher by most boxing followers, as super-bantamweight world champion Leo Santa Cruz (29-0-1, 17 knockouts) of La Habra meets last-minute opponent Jose Cayetano (17-3, 8 KOs) of Tijuana in a 10-round featherweight bout.
The wild card is how elaborate that Mayweather/Showtime have made the fighters' pre-fight entrance, when Pacquiao will walk into the MGM Grand arena to a song he sang and recorded honoring his native Philippines, and Mayweather, with Justin Bieber likely in tow, will do something he has promised will be special.
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