Manny Pacquiao talks to his trainer Freddie Roach and strength and conditioning coach Justine Fortune inside the Wild Card gym after his training on Thursday, 23 April 205. Photo by Rem Zamora
HOLLYWOOD—After nearly three months of training, Manny Pacquiao said he now has Floyd Mayweather Jr. all figured out.
“I already know his (Floyd) style,” said Pacquiao, mimicking the American’s shoulder roll.
“Me, I’m ready to rumble.”
Pacquiao spoke with Manila-based journalists after his regular sparring session Thursday at chief trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card gym here.
Looking younger and slimmer after trimming his hair and goatee, Pacquiao shared his thoughts on his May 2 showdown with Mayweather Jr. at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao said he would try to be the aggressor in the 12-round showdown for the unified world bantamweight crown.
Asked whether he’d be able to knock out Mayweather, Pacquiao grinned and said: “Very personal to me.”
According to Pacquiao, this is the hardest he has trained for a fight in a career that spans two decades.
Reminded that he’d be facing his toughest opponent yet in the unbeaten Mayweather, Pacquiao said he doesn’t really care.
“So what if he’s undefeated, I’ve fought and beaten many guys who were unbeaten like him,” said the only fighter to win world titles in eight weight divisions.
“And they all fell.
“I don’t worry because God is with me,” said Pacquiao, who, at one point, went to a corner to check the number of what he described as “bad words” that members of Team Pacquiao have uttered during training camp. (An infraction costs $5 and they have collected nearly $300, he said.)
Earlier, Pacquiao met actor Keanu Reeves at home in the morning and was visited by Mark Wahlberg at the gym in the afternoon.