APRIL 30 (Reuters) — At a final news conference Wednesday (April 29) ahead of Saturday night’s Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, there were malicious stare downs, no chair throwing tantrums or any trash talking.
Instead, both fighters offered up a healthy dose of appreciation, admiration and respect for the opposing camp
Maybe that’s because the fight can stand on its own, as a match-up between two once-in-a-lifetime fighters who are very good at what they do.
“The thing is that this is what I wanted and let everyone know that this is going to be a good fight,” Pacquiao told Reuters as he arrived at the MGM Grand Theatre.
Both Pacquiao and Mayweather appeared calm just days ahead of the fight, which is arguably one of the biggest in many years.
“I don’t worry,” said Mayweather, when asked about the pressure of the event. “I have done it before and I’m a fighter and I have faced so many different styles. We will see how everything goes Saturday night.”
While the outcome is yet to be decided, the sport of boxing looks to be that big winner by finally providing fans with a fight they can get excited about.
“I just like Manny, not because he throws a lot of punches but because he’s very elusive and hard to hit,” said former heavyweight champ Mike Tyson, who drew a large crowd at the event.
“The only time it might be interesting to see what happens is that Floyd will have to force himself to throw more than 38 punches a round with this guy. Manny is going to be close and Manny is going to be fast and side to side. Floyd is going to have to bring his A plus game”
The undefeated American Mayweather (47-0) is guaranteed 120 million dollars from the hotly anticipated welterweight bout that is expected to be the biggest-grossing of all time.
Earlier on Tuesday, Pacquiao promised that his “killer instinct” was intact as he prepared for Saturday’s (May 02) welterweight showdown.
Pacquiao, a 2-1 underdog, is expected to earn more than 100 million dollars. (Las Vegas, Nevada, USA)
