Floyd Mayweather
Floyd Mayweather met Manny Pacquiao at half-time during Heat game Getty

Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao have finally met face-to-face. Bur rather than in the boxing ring, their meeting took place courtside at a basketball game on Tuesday 27 January as Miami Heat took on the Milwaukee Bucks.

Sat on opposite sides of the court, Pacquiao and Mayweather met at half-time to have a chat and exchange phone numbers amid mounting speculation suggesting an eagerly awaited showdown between the welterweight kings on 2 May is close to being agreed.

The moment was also captured on video and posted on Vine.

"He gave me his number to me and said we will communicate with each other," Pacquiao was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

When asked if their meeting would lead to the two directly negotiating their prospective fight with each other, the Filipino fighter confirmed that was the case.

Pacquiao's adviser Michael Koncz, who was also present at the Heat game, told ESPN: "It was a private discussion. They had a private, friendly discussion, and that is all I really want to say."

Pacquiao is in Miami as he was one of the judges at the Miss Universe pageant on Sunday 25 January, while Mayweather is a regular at the American Airlines Arena.

While attending an LA Clippers game on Sunday, fans at the Staples Center greeted the unbeaten American with chants of "we want Pacquiao".

Mayweather and Pacquiao previously spoke directly via telephone in efforts to arrange a fight in 2012, only for the former's financial demands to scupper the talks.

In their latest round of talks, Pacquiao has insisted he has already signed his part of the contract for a fight that is certain to be the richest in the history of boxing and has repeatedly urged his would-be opponent to follow suit.

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