Pacquiao seeks last laugh against Mayweather
LOS ANGELES — Manny Pacquiao always knew that if he wanted to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr., it would have to be on Mayweather’s terms.
Pacquiao also knew that to do otherwise would be selfish and hypocritical — and would cost him a chance to make more than $100 million for no more than 36 minutes in the ring.
So Pacquiao gave in on almost every demand. From the split of the purse (60-40 for Mayweather), to whose name comes first on the promotional material (Mayweather’s), to the venue for the fight (the MGM Grand Garden, Mayweather’s “home court”), he said yes.
Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 knockouts) hosted his media day Wednesday at trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Calif., to promote their May 2 megafight, one day after Mayweather (47-0, 28 KOs) had his at his Las Vegas gym.
“If I didn’t agree to his terms, then I wouldn’t be doing my job to the boxing fans,” Pacquiao said. “The fans have demanded that we fight, and if that meant giving him what he wanted, that’s fine with me. I did it because it was the right thing to do for boxing.”
Of course, Pacquiao can have the last laugh should he defeat Mayweather. And he fully expects to do so.
“I’m very confident for the fight,” Pacquiao said. “We focused on speed and power, and I had a lot of sparring partners who did a good job.”
Pacquiao even did something out of the ordinary — he watched videotape of his opponent. Pacquiao watched Zab Judah, like Pacquiao a southpaw, fight Mayweather in 2006, a bout Mayweather won by unanimous decision.
So what did Pacquiao see that will help him May 2?
“It showed that our strategy and training is right for this fight,” he said.
Roach said Pacquiao is aware of the traps Mayweather likes to set to lure his opponents in and to force them into mistakes. The trainer said his fighter will avoid those traps.
“Manny’s too smart and too experienced to get suckered in by Floyd,” Roach said.
But Pacquiao is also 36 years old. He always has been the type to go on the attack. On Tuesday, Mayweather described him as a reckless fighter.
Pacquiao didn’t disagree.
“People like me because I’m reckless,” Pacquiao said. “We call it boxing because it’s a sport of punching.”
Mayweather, 38, knows what Pacquiao brings. He knows he will try to establish himself early. He knows he’s a volume puncher who will try to force Mayweather out of his comfort zone and make him stand and fight in close quarters, much the way Marcos Maidana tried during the fighters’ first meeting last May 3, a fight Mayweather won by majority decision.
But Roach said Pacquiao has something going for him that Mayweather’s previous opponents didn’t.
“Manny’s prepared to pressure Floyd for 12 rounds,” Roach said.
Pacquiao said this isn’t about knocking someone out. He hasn’t done that since he stopped Miguel Cotto by technical knockout in the 12th round in November 2009 at the MGM Grand Garden. And because Mayweather will be heavier than Pacquiao when they step into the ring, Roach and Pacquiao aren’t talking knockout.
“Mayweather’s probably going to come into the ring around 160, and Manny’s going to be like 147, 148,” Roach said. “He weighed 144 (Wednesday). I’ve got him eating five times a day trying to put some weight on him.”
As Pacquiao has shown during his past three wins that he didn’t need to stop someone to soundly defeat him. Since a stunning sixth-round knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in December 2012 at the MGM Grand Garden, Pacquiao has dominated Brandon Rios, Timothy Bradley and Chris Algieri.
While none of them is in Mayweather’s league, Pacquiao said he thinks he has the ability to execute Roach’s game plan for 12 rounds and win a decision, even in Mayweather’s adopted home of Las Vegas.
“I’m not doubting the (Nevada Athletic) commission. I trust they will do the right thing. I’m not worried about the judges,” said Pacquiao, who was the victim of one of the worst judging performances boxing had seen in decades when Bradley was awarded a 12-round split decision in their first meeting in June 2012 at the MGM Grand Garden.
Roach said he isn’t worried, either. He confirmed that he had a conversation recently with NAC executive director Bob Bennett to go over the list of referees and judges for the fight. Roach gave his input, but wouldn’t say if he had any referees or judges crossed off the list.
“Bob reached out to us, and we talked,” Roach said. “I’m confident we’ll have the best officials for the fight.”
The NAC will announce the referee and judges Tuesday at its monthly meeting.
With the main preparation for the showdown done, Pacquiao said he will look to stay sharp until he arrives in Las Vegas on April 27.
“We know this is one of the biggest fights in boxing history,” he said. “For me, it would be my biggest win.”
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.
