Following #MayPac on Twitter

This weekend, @FloydMayweather and @MannyPacquiao will square off for the Welterweight Championship in one of the most talked-about fights in boxing history — and Twitter will be your home for all of the real-time live conversation before, during and after this highly anticipated face-off.

Join the global sports conversation via the official fight hashtag, #MayPac. And read on for details about how Twitter keeps you connected to the Saturday night fight, whether you’re at the live event in Las Vegas or anywhere else.

The boxers
To start, make sure you’re following undefeated champ @FloydMayweather and eight-time, eight-division champ @MannyPacquiao. Look for behind-the-scenes photos and videos from both boxers as they bring fans closer to their preparation on Twitter.

For exclusive content related to the big fight, you should also follow @TRBoxing and @MayweatherPromo.

Broadcast info
HBO (@HBOBoxing) and Showtime (@SHOSports) Pay-Per-View will broadcast the fight and have a lot planned on Twitter.

The networks have launched a hashtag battle, encouraging fans to Tweet #MayWins for Mayweather or #PacWins for Pacquiao. During the weigh-in show this Friday on HBO and during the pre-fight broadcast, fan predictions will be revealed live on-air, along with the results of the hashtag battle.

The MGM (@MGMGrand) in Las Vegas will visualize the hashtag battle outside on their digital marquee and inside the hotel lobby on TV screens.

All week long, HBO and Showtime will also share Twitter Mirror and Vine 360 video Tweets featuring legendary fighters, media personalities and celebrity guests at various fight-related events.

On fight night, HBO’s ringside photographers will capture and Tweet photos of Manny Pacquiao as he returns to his corner via a Twitter Mirror. HBO’s roster of World Championship Boxers will also be invited to play the role of roaming photographer while using handheld Twitter Mirrors to capture their interactions with fellow fighters and celebrities ringside at the MGM.

Additionally, the fight marks our first ever Twitter Amplify program with Showtime. Follow @ShoSports for epic Fight Week content, sponsored by @PizzaHut.

Five years’ buildup
The two boxers, their fans, and especially celebrities have been clamoring for this fight to happen for over five years — and the anticipation has unfolded on Twitter. In fact, Mayweather Tweeted about wanting to fight Pacquiao years ago:

And Pacquiao asked for the fight last year:

This collection below features Tweets (dating back to 2010) from legendary boxers, athletes, actors and musicians who all wanted this fight to happen:

Partnership with SMART
In the Philippines, mobile leader Smart Communications (@SMARTCares) has thrown its full support behind @MannyPacquiao by leading the call for Filipinos to show the country’s unity behind the “People’s Champ.” Through the #SugodManny campaign, Smart is encouraging users to post Tweets, photos and videos of their “Knockout Pose” on Twitter, while subscribers of Smart Prepaid’s top call and text offers automatically get 30MB of free Internet data which they can use to keep tabs on the fight and post updates in real time on Twitter.

@SmartCares is also curating and embedding Tweets with exclusive videos, expert comments, behind-the-scenes training info, fan support, and live fight updates on May 3rd across all their online and mobile channels. See more here and here. Follow their custom timeline to get the latest Tweets about @MannyPacquiao and the #SugodManny campaign:

Periscope
Throughout the week, @HBOBOxing and @trboxing will use our new live-streaming app Periscope (@periscopeco) to bring fans the sights and sounds as they unfold.

Pooch Hall (@iam_POOCHHALL) of Showtime’s “Ray Donovan” will act as the official Periscope correspondent on the red carpet, where he’ll interview and interact with celebrities on Saturday.

Be sure to use #MayPac to join the conversation all week long.