Floyd Mayweather Jr
Mayweather has pledged to make the fight happen before the end of his career Getty Images

Floyd Mayweather Jr is on the brink of agreeing to a highly-anticipated bout with Manny Pacquiao after stating "we have to make this fight happen" in a video posted through his official Instagram account.

The American has been in discussions with Pacquiao over a bout on 2 May but the footage represents the first time Mayweather has publicly confirmed his intention to meet with his welterweight rival.

Mayweather last week stated a prospective $200m (£131m) deal between him and Pacquiao had not been agreed but said talks were ongoing between the pair, who have met face-to-face in order to speed up the negotiation process.

Speaking during the video in which Pacquiao is pictured in the background, Mayweather said: "I congratulate him [Pacquiao] on his career; he's had a wonderful career. I had a wonderful career but before we leave this sport of course we have to make this fight happen."

A meeting between Mayweather and Pacquiao in May in Las Vegas now appears inevitable, with both fighters having publicly declared their intention to make the much-rumoured fight a reality, however the pair must first agree on a purse split before the deal is announced.

Top tier tickets for the much-hyped fight are likely to go on sale for $5,000, with the event likely to break the gate record set when Mayweather fought Canelo Alvarez in 2013.

Such gate receipts and the worldwide clamour for the fight from television companies across the globe means the total purse for the bout could be around $200m, with Mayweather reportedly demanding a 60/40 split in his favour.

Pacquiao and Mayweather have exchanged barbs outside the ring across the last six years, with neither boxer able to agree to a fight which would rank among the biggest in the history of modern-day boxing.

However, Mayweather appears to have finally stood down from the demands which scuppered a fight in 2010 when he requested his opponent to undergo an Olympic-style drug testing programme, and is ready to agree to a record-breaking fight this Spring in his final year as a professional.

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