In what amounted to a circus-like atmosphere, tents and all, the main attraction, Floyd Mayweather Jr., showed up fashionably late, as per usual, to address the media before heading inside his Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas for his open media workout.
As he arrived he was whisked to the make shift media area inside of one of the tents set up housing different areas from media check in, refreshment area and a merchandise stand, Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) denied the magnitude of his May 2 bout with Manny Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) would make that much of a difference to the imprint he leaves on the sport of boxing.
“One fight does not define my legacy,” Mayweather said. “If one fight was to define who Floyd Mayweather is, why did I bother fighting all those other fights? I could have just fought one time and that would have been it. So one fight does not determine Floyd Mayweather’s career.”
There has been tremendous hype building up behind the May 2 clash, after five years of fans clamoring for the bout, but Mayweather doesn’t necessarily think there is anything to live up to.
““It’s not about the hype,” Mayweather said. “It’s about two future Hall of Famers in a mega-fight. I’ve done record-breaking numbers before.This is not my first dance.”
Getting back to basics with this training, Mayweather reverted back to activities he used to perform early on in his career, like chopping wood, to help build strength.
“I had to go back to where it all started from,” he said. “Those are the things I was doing when I was young, 10 years old, so I had to go back.”
Asked about what he thought about fans having to pay the hefty $99.95 pay-per-view price when he doesn’t for a knockout, Mayweather explained it’s an option that they’ll have to figure out for themselves.
“I’m not here to talk about what anyone spends,” Mayweather said. “My job is to go out there and be Floyd Mayweather. No one is forced to do anything they don’t want to do.”
Known for being one of the better in-fight adjusters to an opponents fight plan, Mayweather thinks he can do the same against Pacquiao, but doubts his opponent has that kind of ability.
“I don’t know if he can make adjustments,” Mayweather said. “I’m able to make adjustments. He comes at different angles so we’ll have to see. But he’s facing a solid, strong welterweight.”
Mayweather’s father, Floyd Mayweather Sr. agrees with his son, as he doesn’t see anything special in Pacquiao or his Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach for that matter.
“This is just another opponent,” Mayweather Sr. said. “No more, no less…. I’m not worried about Manny being nothing. I don’t worry about his speed. I don’t worry about his power. I don’t worry about his thoughts. He’s going to get his ass whipped.”
Further attacking the opponent at-hand Mayweather Sr. opened on roach, and the displeasure he has for the man who’s been critical of him and his son in the media during the lead up to the bout.
“First of all, Freddie Roach is a joke,” Mayweather Sr. said. “Coach Roach, wouldn’t dare to approach, a roach with no hope. Manny has moved from first class to coach with the roach and now he will be sprayed with Raid and underpaid. At the end of the night, his title will be gone.
“I will smash Coach Roach. He should be in the Hall of Shame and not the (Hall of Fame).”
There have been stories coming out of training camp that Mayweather has been knocked down in training and that he is knocking down sparring partners as well. Despite the rumors he said that his vision for the bout is all coming together, with the help of his training.
“We’ve had good sparring partners. We have a great game plan, and the one thing you know I can do is I can adjust,” Mayweather said. “Manny Pacquiao is a very reckless fighter. You saw what happened when (Juan Manuel) Marquez knocked him out. I fight with smarts. I’m always five, 10 steps ahead of my opponent. I could have fought as a reckless fighter, but I don’t think I’d have had the same success.”
One of those sparring partners, in Zab Judah, is a former opponent of Mayweather’s, and has been sparring with the 47-0 champion, giving him time to prepare for Paccquiao’s southpaw stance, as Judah is as well. and had nothing but good things to say.
“He looks great, he looks phenomenal,” Judah said. “He has fast and and he’s always in great shape. His defense is impregnable. He’s doing great. He’s calm, he’s happy. He’s in good spirits about what’s going on and it’s just regular Floyd.”
Judah has been in the ring with Mayweather before, so his opinion on the bout should be weighed a little more than most giving their two-cents on the bout.
When asked how May 2 will play out he simply stated, “48-0.”
