One of the most awaited for boxing matches couldn’t come any sooner. Six years in the making, and finally, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will come face to face for the first and perhaps for the last time, on May 2 at the MGM in Las Vegas; this fight could generate as much as half a billion dollars in revenue, and by far, will be the highest grossing fight ever.

The two aren’t the only ones benefitting economically from this fight. Let’s not forget that there are varying avenues from where to divide the monies being made from this grand event. Eduardo de la Cruz is one to have struck gold with a design he made of the two fighters, a design that will be found on the official t-shirts to be sold by the Mayweather team during the fight.

De la Cruz is an art and graphic design graduate from USC. Admirably, he had the opportunity to study in the United States thanks to a scholarship he was granted. He is originally from Mexico City, where he is currently residing again, and for the past six years he’s been working on art and design projects related to boxing. This has exposed him to opportunities such as art exhibitions and taking special orders on boxing designs from people who’ve liked his work, Mayweather being one of them.

It’s like a dream for De la Cruz to be honored with designing the tee-shirt that one of the highest paid athletes in the world will be calling his own. The link between the two is even more incredible, it happened to be through a close friend of Mayweather who stomped across De la Cruz’s page on social media. The friend, who lives in Canada, contacted De la Cruz, who then sent a sample shirt to Mayweather’s team and soon heard back nothing but positive feedback and an almost immediate hire to produce five thousand tee shirts, all being made in Mexico.

Of this special moment in his career, De la Cruz expressed “I’m very proud that my work has come this far and more so now that I am part of the production of the Mayweather team’s tee shirts.” Upon asking if he’ll be at the fight come May 2, he’s still unsure. It’s still up in the air actually, as to who will be there considering that just a little over a week away, tickets are still not released for sale. Once they are, the price range will be $1,500 – $10,000 for general tickets, don’t bother asking what it’ll cost to sit ringside. After all, it is a million dollar championship belt at stake on that ring and someone has to pay for it (this is where the public comes in).

Since Mayweather has beat most renowned Latino fighters, it’s no secret he’s not a favorite in many Latino households, so it’s ironic that a Latino would design his shirts. Naturally, we were due to ask De la Cruz if he’s a Mayweather fan, to which he responded “I simply admire him for his professional career, he is one of the greatest in [boxing] history.” He also said he hasn’t received any negative criticism for working for Mayweather but rather many felicitations.

In the past, De la Cruz has worked on projects that include the design of a book cover documenting the life of Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chávez and the 50th Anniversary poster for the World Boxing Council. He admits, artists struggle to get by but these special projects have brought enough success to his career so he is able to pursue art at one-hundred percent.

“I enjoy my work as an artist 100%, it’s my passion, and I know that it’s hard to live as an artist nowadays, but God has granted me this talent and what better way to share it than through boxing. I am infinitely grateful to God for giving me this talent and for being part of this marvelous world of boxing that has changed my life without actually boxing.”

Once the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight is over, De la Cruz will continue to work on projects related to boxing but will mainly place his efforts on branding his work -specifically in Australia where Sharon Anyos, a female boxing champion lives and is working as a representative of his Box Art Collection brand.

Tag: geneva gámez vallejo