Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao to go head-to-head in March press conference

Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao will go head-to-head for the first time since agreeing their $400m superfight during an exclusive press conference in Los Angeles on 11 March.

Both fighters will assemble in an as yet unknown LA destination to begin promotion for a bout which is expected to be the highest grossing in the history of pay-per-view boxing, taking place at the MGM Grand on 2 May.

After years of social media sniping between the pair, the event will represent the first time the duo will publicly go face-to-face as they attempt to land the first psychological blows ahead of eagerly anticipated fight.

Negotiations between Mayweather and Pacquiao have been tranquil of late, with direct discussions helping the fight being eventually agreed after years of talks, however the press conference is likely to see a renewal of hostilities between the pair.

Mayweather and Pacquiao have often used their Twitter and Instagram accounts to gain the upper hand, with provocative images and taunting messages attempting to unsettle their opponent but neither competitor will be able to hide in front of the world's press.

To add to the gravitas of the fight, the World Boxing Council announced last week they have commissioned the building of a new belt which will be awarded to the victor of the bout in three months' time.

WBO president Mauricio Sulaiman said: "For this special recognition I would like to have emeralds or platinum, but everything will be defined during the next weeks. This is because of the magnitude of the event, which will be broadcast via TV networks globally."

Though tickets for the bout have yet to go on official sale, third-party ticket websites are selling seats for as much as £17,176 ($26,390) for a fight which is expect to smash box office and global pay-per-view records.

The current record for a pay-per-view fight is the $150m spent on Mayweather's win over Saul Alvarez in 2013 but that feat could be consigned to history if tickets through official outlets are made available for the reported estimate of £2,300 (£3,500) per pass.