Mayweather vs. Pacquiao -- Ticket Delay Explained ... Pissing Match Over Good Seats

The delay over the sale of the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao tickets was all about GOOD SEATS -- with Manny's team holding up the deal because they felt Floyd's team got the better quality tickets.

Here's the deal ... sources connected to the negotiation tell TMZ Sports ... the sides had agreed to split 9,600 tickets evenly between Team Manny and Team Floyd for the May 2nd fight.

Team Manny includes Bob Arum's Top Rank Boxing and HBO. Team Floyd includes Al Hayman's company and CBS. Each side got 4,800 tickets.

But the rift, we're told, all had to do with seat location -- with Manny's people claiming Floyd's camp got the better tickets because of Mayweather's relationship with the MGM Grand.

As one source put it ... "Floyd's camp got more seats in the first few rows, including the front row, and that's a big deal." We're told Manny's camp demanded equality.

We're told Manny's camp refused to lay down on the issue -- thus delaying the ticket release indefinitely. And Wednesday, with 10 days 'til the fight, CBS honcho Les Moonves stepped in.

Sources say there was an emergency meeting in which Les stepped in and "played Solomon" (a reference to the biblical figure's negotiating expertise) ... and fixed the situation.