<text>  CNNA chiseled boxers Instagram feed shows him making constant references to the Bible and enjoying gospel singing with his wife. Another features his formidable opponent counting stacks of money, hanging out in strip clubs, and flashing diamond watches and Ferraris. Welcome to the world of boxing promotion, circa 2015. American Floyd Mayweather and Filipino Manny Pacquiao are set to officially announce their heavily anticipated boxing match at a press conference in Los Angeles Wednesday. With the combined purse for the May 2 bout in Las Vegas reported to touch 300 million pending viewership numbers, the incentives to self-promote could not be higher. Nowadays you have to be on social media to launch the fight and to build hype, says boxing promoter Nisse Sauerland, CEO of Team Sauerland. It couldnt be done without it. Thirty-eight year old Mayweather 47-0, 26 knockouts, who favors the moniker The Money Man or TBE The Best Ever, boasts nearly five million Instagram followers, 5.65 million followers on Twitter and 9.2 million Facebook likes. He famously confirmed the fight via Shots, a photo sharing social media application that hes invested in, and displays links to his clothing brand, The Money Team, on all his accounts. Along with professing to the be the best fighter of all time, he could also stake a claim to be one of the greatest social media users in sports. I think theyre both playing their roles, says Sauerland, who promotes over 45 boxers. Youve got the bad guy and the good guy, really. Youve got the guy who throws the money around Mayweather, thats his image, and Pacquiao, hes the hope of a nation. Although Pacquiao 57-5-2, 38 knockouts also sports millions of followers, his social media numbers lag behind that of his opponent. The 36-year-old Filipino counts 1.7 million followers on Twitter and just 647,000 on Instagram, although his popularity on Facebook is much closer, with 6.3 million page likes. Has this disparity had an impact on Pacquiaos share of the fights heady purse, which is reported to be split 6040 in favor of Mayweather? If you have five million Twitter followers it does give you power in negotiation, because it reflects popularity, says Sauerland. But Mayweather needs Pacquiao too; you need a storyline to make a good fight ... Pacquiao is the route to make it the biggest purse in history. The disparity is probably due to Pacquiaos less flashy posts. Without exception, they show him in training, in church, or with family -- always with a nod to Jesus in the text -- as well as his nationality, says sports media consultant Daniel McLaren and Cast Digital chief executive officer. Manny is a little bit more of a private person; hes not going to be as outspoken and give away as much, so hes always going to have a smaller following, he says, while noting that Instagram is less popular outside of North America and Europe. Pacquiaos followers in his home country are more likely to track his moves on Facebook and Twitter, adds McLaren. Either way, both fighters are likely to experience a surge in followers. If the only place you can find out whats happening behind the scenes in the lead-up to the fight is via their social media feeds, youre going to follow them, McLaren says. So I think they will see quite a big increase in followers and the amount of mentions theyre getting as the fight gets closer. Athletes who participate in individual sports are more inclined to be active on social media, says McLaren, because they dont receive regular salaries, and product endorsements can be a much larger portion of their income. A boxer or a golfer or a tennis player has to use it as a commercial platform or a brand building platform, he says. If you have the choice between a different number of athletes to sponsor, and one has a million Instagram followers while the other doesnt go on social media, then its a no-brainer. Sauerland agrees. Every fighter nowadays should be on social media, and if theyre not, then theyre not doing a good enough job at promoting themselves, he says. It doesnt matter who you are, whether youre a club fighter or a superstar. Itll be an interesting fight, adds McLaren, just because they are so different. 