As Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao locked eyes in the obligatory stare-down before Wednesday’s televised press conference in Los Angeles, what appeared to be a pained expression on both men started to register.
For what seemed like a minute, the two superstars did not glare at each other, as most fighters do, but were just kind of looking, until they finally turned away.
There was little emotion, no anger. It was a strange, emotionless moment, producing the sizzle of a business transaction, such as withdrawing money from an ATM. For a welterweight unification match that is expected to shatter every financial record in boxing, the analogy isn’t a bad one.
It wasn’t until Freddie Roach, who trains Pacquiao, took his place on the dais at the Nokia Theater that it felt like an actual fight.
“This is the biggest challenge of my life,” said Roach. “I’ve been looking forward for this for a long time. We’re fighting the best fighter of our life. But we’re going to kick his ass! Good luck Floyd.”
Until then it had been a virtual love-fest, with Bob Arum remarking on how the two sides — which include the rival networks HBO and Showtime — worked together in harmony to make this long-awaited fight on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Pay-Per-View finally happen.
Arum even got a little mawkish, recalling the Philippines, where Pacquiao is from, as a place “with a graciousness and kindness” because during the Holocaust “when the doors of most countries of the world were closed to those fleeing the Holocaust, including this country, the doors in the Philippines were not only open, but welcoming.”
For those in search of trash talk or any kind of hostility between the camps, outside of Roach’s comments, this wasn’t the place to be.
Wednesday’s event will be the only press conference before fight week and it’s just as well, as each fighter seemed tired of discussing the other.
Mayweather didn’t seem to bat an eye at Roach’s prediction. He later got up and thanked social media while promising fireworks. He looked sleepy, in need of a nap.
Pacquiao, 36, and Mayweather, 38, acted like the adults they are, perhaps aware a larger-than-normal audience was watching. Both even did their best to downplay the fight, as if they didn’t want to talk about it.
“I’m more worried about my last few fights with (Oscar) De La Hoya and (Miguel) Cotto than this fight,” Pacquiao said on ESPN.
Mayweather didn’t seem overly anxious, either. “It’s just another fight for me,” Mayweather told ESPN.
Mayweather finally exhibited some of that brashness when the presser was over. Talking to Showtime’s Brian Custer, he was asked why this fight finally was set.
“This fight happened because of me,” Mayweather said. “It didn’t happen because of Manny Pacquiao. We had a fight on May 2, and what better opponent to choose and we chose Manny Pacquiao.”
Critics will lament that it’s five years too late for this match, but it is still expected to generate more than $400 million, with Mayweather (47-0) receiving 60% of the revenue and Pacquiao (57-5-2) pocketing 40%. Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe revealed that face value for tickets will range from $1,500 to $7,500 and said an announcement will be made shortly on ticket sales to the public.
Source:
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