Albert R. Hunt, Columnist

John McCain Roots for Pacquiao Over Mayweather

Al Hunt queries the Senate's biggest boxing fan about the sport's richest match.

April 30, 2015 at 12:20 PM UTC

Albert R. Hunt is a former Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He was the executive editor of Bloomberg News, before which he was a reporter, bureau chief and executive Washington editor at the Wall Street Journal.

Senator's choice.
Photographer: Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images

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Manny Pacquiao fights Floyd Mayweather Jr. on Saturday night in Las Vegas in the most anticipated boxing match since Muhammad Ali fought Joe Frazier more than 40 years ago. In politics, there is no bigger boxing aficionado than Senator John McCain of Arizona. As a kid he watched fights on television -- a staple in the 1950s -- and boxed for three years at the U.S. Naval Academy. He has the same passion for boxing that he brings to the political arena. What follows is a lightly edited exchange of e-mails with McCain on this weekend's fight -- featuring the richest purse in boxing history -- and on the "sweet science" in general:

Hunt: Could Mayweather-Pacquiao shape up to be one of the classic fights or is all this hype just to build up the gate?