Floyd Mayweather Jr. of the US reacts accusing Marcos Maidana of Argentina on September 13, 2014 at The MGM Grand, Las Vegas. Mayweather dominated with a 12 round unanimous decision over Maidana retaining his WBA Welterweight Belt and WBC Welterweight and Super Welterweight World Titles. (Photo John Gurzinski / AFP)
The idea of his son losing his first professional bout in 19 years would stun Floyd Mayweather Sr.
Thrown with that “what if” scenario, the father and trainer of the pound-for-pound king, who will be in the fight of his life against Manny Pacquiao on May 2, gamely entertained the thought.
“I’m gonna be honest with you, that would be a big… I have to say it would shock the (expletive) out of me. It would shock the hell out of me,” Floyd Sr. told MLive’s David Mayo. “But you’ve still got to live on, man.”
“I’m not going to hide because it happened. But better yet, to be honest, I’m just saying that it’s God will, you know? I think that it’ll be all right.”
BACKSTORY: Floyd is going to hit Pacquiao so easy—Mayweather Sr.
The last time Floyd Jr., lost was during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta when he lost in the semifinal as a 19-year-old.
And 19 years later, Mayweather is 47-0 with 26 knockouts and is arguably the best fighter today.
Having used to winning, the welterweight champion had said losing is not on his mind.
“I just feel like when you get to this level, you’re making nine figures in 36 minutes, you have to be a winner,” the WBA and WBC titleholder said. “If a fighter lost before, losing is in the back of his mind. For me, all I’ve done in my career is win, so winning is always in my mind.”
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, meanwhile, thinks losing would even “increase” Mayweather’s “marketability and popularity.”
READ: Arum: Pacquiao-Mayweather a culture clash
“I always thought that idea — now, you don’t want to lose — but the fact that he would lose was not the death kind of thing that he thought it was, that he thinks it is. I mean, all the great ones lost,” said Arum, who believes Pacquiao will win by knockout.
READ: Arum, Roach confident Pacquiao ‘will emerge victorious’ vs Mayweather
Pacquiao’s Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, however, sees it differently.
“His whole identity is that zero,” Roach told MLive. “He’s still a great fighter if he loses, but people will look at him completely different, and especially at his age, I don’t know how he would come back from that. CC
For more updates on Pacquiao-Mayweather “Fight of the Century,” visit The Pacquiao Files.