Floyd Mayweather Jr, the world’s best-paid athlete, will get even richer tomorrow, when he takes on Manny Pacquiao in the most hyped boxing match of this century. The pair are by far the sport’s best-known fighters: the undefeated Mr Mayweather often promotes his bouts on television; Mr Pacquiao is a congressman and national icon in the Philippines. The fight will be the most lucrative ever: 3.15m people are expected to pay $99 each to watch on TV, and the cheapest tickets in the 17,000-seat Las Vegas arena have a face value of $1,500. Mr Mayweather should earn $180m for under an hour’s work; Mr Pacquiao will pocket $120m. These eye-popping figures would seem to refute the perception that boxing’s disorganisation and brutality have reduced it to a fringe sport. But with no similarly bankable stars on the horizon, this bout will set records that could last a very long time.