If you didn’t know any better, you would think that you were attending some kind of lavish awards ceremony. The media came in droves. The red carped was rolled out. Those who walked it came in dapper suits, posing for photographers as if they were attending the Oscars. It had all the elements of a gathering of the stars. The only notable exception was there were only two stars on this warm Los Angeles afternoon, the same two men who will finally share a boxing ring together on May 2.

The Mayweather – Pacquiao Press Conference held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Wednesday, March 11, officially announcing the mega fight. The live press conference will be the first and only time we see the both Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao in the same room together until fight week.

That’s probably a big reason why both camps pulled out all the stamps to give the press conference an awards-show feel to it. It worked, too.

Over 700 media credentialed media members were in attendance. Even for the hyperbolic standards of Hollywood, that turnout represents a gigantic number, emblematic of the anticipation surrounding the only boxing fight the world wants to see.