It's on

Last week was like Christmas for all the boxing die-hards.

It was a day they had become convinced would never happen. It was like the "South Park" episode that poked fun of how "Game of Thrones" always talks about the dragons being on their way, but they never do actually arrive.

Finally, after five long years of letdowns and defused hopes, the fight has been made.

It's no longer speculation. It's no longer a pipe dream. It's official. Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will have their long-anticipated battle on May 2.

It's a fight that not only captivates boxing fans; it's a fight that the entire sports world has been clamoring for these past five years.

For that reason, there's no doubt about it. It will become the richest boxing match in the history of the sport. It will be the richest bout in the history of fighting.

Mayweather's fight with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez set the record with largest mark for ticket sales with a total of $19 million. That record looks to be upended.

Mayweather set the record for richest payday against Alvarez as he brought in $41.5 million. He is set to shatter that mark. He is expected to make $120 million for the super-fight with Pacquiao. Pacquiao will probably bring in close to $80 million.

This will truly be the most anticipated boxing match of the modern era. The only other fights that I can think of that drew as much excitement in the past 20 years were Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield and Tyson vs. Lennox Lewis.

It's a match I never thought would happen until just recently.

Five years ago, the fight was actually scheduled, but the two still hadn't signed their names to the dotted lines.

When Pacquiao refused to submit to drug testing the day of the fight, Mayweather refused to go through with the bout. When that deal fell through the cracks, there were more than four years of icy negotiations that were bleak to say the least.

As time progressed, Pacquiao finally gave in and said that he was willing to give blood the day of the fight, but Mayweather then came in with another demand. He refused to go 50/50 on the gate. He wanted 60 percent.

As time progressed, once again, Pacquiao gave in and said he would take the 40 percent but still, the negotiations were at a standstill.

And while all of these futile battles were being fought behind the scenes, both men were having their own problems in and out of the ring that made a bout between the two seem very unlikely.

Mayweather went a whole year without fighting following his 90-day jail sentence for battery of his ex-girlfriend.

Pacquiao's woes came in the squared circle. For a while, it looked like he had hit the wall and was quickly headed downhill.

After an extremely controversial loss to Timothy Bradley where most analysts thought he was robbed, Pacquiao was knocked out cold by Juan Manuel Marquez in their third fight

It looked like his career was over, but he quickly redeemed himself.

Pacquiao rebounded with an easy win over Brandon Rios to win the WBO International Welterweight title. He then got his revenge by winning a unanimous decision over Bradley to regain the WBO Welterweight title.

And back in October, Pacquiao made easy work of Chris Algieri to retain his titles.

That's when the talk started up again. With Mayweather still undefeated and with Pacquiao back to dominating, everyone wanted to see them collide.

The two visited with each other courtside at a basketball game, and that really appears to be when the momentum began. Not too long afterward, it became official. The fight we feared would never happen is now less than two months away.

Yes, it's quite true, the fight doesn't have the luster it had five years ago. Mayweather is still the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world but at 38, he's not what he was back in 2009.

Even though Pacquiao has been strong as of late, he is definitely not the fighter he was in 2009.

I think this five-year delay hurts him the most. He was at his absolute peak back then. He was straight up destroying people. His mix of power and speed were just devastating to his opponents.

Five years later, his speed has deteriorated, and even his power isn't what it once was. It's been since 2009 since he has knocked out an opponent.

Either way, it's still a fight worth getting excited about. You know we're going to see both guys at their absolute best. This is the fight they've been waiting for their whole lives.

And who knows? The Undertaker's streak ended this year; maybe Mayweather's will end as well. That was a joke, by the way.

But seriously, even though it's five years late, I can't wait to see what happens when these two finally step into the ring to face each other on May 2.

Will Mayweather walk out a perfect 48-0, or will "Pac Man" eat up his undefeated record? I'm just glad these are no longer hypothetical questions.