Mayweather claims he’s fit to fight Manny Pacquiao now
Floyd Mayweather Jr AFP FILE PHOTO
While Manny Pacquiao continues to toil to achieve tip-top shape, Floyd Mayweather Jr. claims he is near peak form now, 37 days early for their May 2 fight in Las Vegas.
“We’re pushing ourselves extremely hard,” Mayweather told the Associated Press. “If the fight [is held] today I could go out and perform and look well.”
Pacquiao’s chief trainer Freddie Roach is not worried, though, and makes no effort to rush his ward’s training at his Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.
Roach’s timetable calls for Pacquiao to be ready in three more weeks.
Mayweather, who allowed AP a peek at his training regimen at his own gym near Chinatown in Las Vegas, said he has achieved fight weight, which should be around 147 pounds.
“My mentality in the sport of boxing is to win first always but, of course, you always want to give people their money’s worth,” said Mayweather, who is expected to bulk up to at least 154 lb on fight night.
“There’s been fights I look at and say I’m not really pleased with that even though I won.”
Against Pacquiao, his pound-for-pound rival, Mayweather said he wants nothing but the best he could be.
The brash, unbeaten American usually spars four six-minute rounds against different southpaws, and on the AP visit it was Maurice Lee’s turn.
Virtually toying with Lee, who has four professional wins in as many fight, Mayweather asked his sparmate to pour it on, à la Pacquiao.
But unlike Pacquiao, who follows a regular training schedule, Mayweather said he trains as he sees fit. He is known to stay in the gym up to 11 p.m., spars late in the afternoon and runs at night.
Just like Pacquiao, Mayweather said he is focused on winning history’s richest tiff, tipped to top $400 million in revenues. Roy Luarca
