Floyd Mayweather Jr says it will be two “hall-of-famers” in their prime when he and Manny Pacquiao clash in the richest fight in boxing history on May 2 at the MGM Hotel.
In the only Las Vegas news conference he is giving ahead of fight week, Mayweather on Tuesday said that he is not worried about spoiling his perfect 47-0 record.
“He’s a future hall-of-famer. I am a future hall-of-famer, and we are meeting at the pinnacle of our careers,” Mayweather said. “From the matchup, it is going to be a very exciting fight.
Photo: AFP
“Our styles are totally different. I fight with smarts. Every move is calculated. Every move is thought about,” he said.
He also discussed how his training is progressing, Pacquiao’s strengths and weaknesses, retirement and revealed that the thrill of boxing is gone and that at this point in his career, it just feels like a job.
“It is at a point where it is business. It is my job. I go to the gym. I train. I know what I have to do,” he added, speaking from a tent outside his Las Vegas gym located in the middle of the desert city’s Chinatown district.
“There was a time when it was fun, but I am to a point now where I am really over all of that stuff,” Mayweather said.
The welterweight unification fight, which has been the subject of on-off negotiations for six years, is not only to be the richest fight, but it will go a long way toward determining who was the greatest fighter of the era.
The fight is expected to shatter records for total revenue with Mayweather earning about US$120 million, while Pacquiao could receive about US$80 million.
Mayweather did allow reporters to watch him work out on Tuesday. He said he is trying to rekindle his passion for the sport by using some different training methods, like chopping wood and swimming laps.
Mayweather’s longevity in the sport has been attributed to his superb defensive skills.
The May 2 fight is expected to be decided by Mayweather’s brilliant counterpunching skills or Pacquiao’s blazing speed and power.
However, Mayweather says he sees some flaws in the boxing style of Pacquiao.
Mayweather described the 36-year-old Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) as a “reckless fighter” who takes too many chances, referring to Juan Manuel Marquez’s knockout of Pacman in December 2012.
“He fought very, very recklessly in the Marquez fight,” Mayweather said. “I could have had the same type of career, but my career wouldn’t have lasted this long.”
Mayweather is in the fifth fight of a six-fight contract with Showtime, and he says this year is to be his last on the job.
“My last fight is in September,” he said.
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