Manny Pacquiao shows his body to select journalists after training at the Wild Card gym in Hollywood, CA on Thursday afternoon, 23 April 2015. REM ZAMORA/INQUIRER PHOTO
LAS VEGAS—Mike Tyson, once reputed to be “the baddest man on the planet,” sees nothing wrong with Manny Pacquiao’s religious fervor.
On Saturday, however, Tyson hopes that Pacquiao will shed his “nice guy” image and turn himself into a monster once the bell rings.
“He has to be a monster,” said Tyson, the former world heavyweight champion who, in his prime, sowed terror in the ring and gained notoriety by chomping off a piece of Evander Holyfield’s ear when they fought in 1998.
“He has to be an intelligent monster. He can’t just rush in. He has to be very elusive.”
A certified fan of Pacquiao, Tyson was in the audience in the final press conference of the “fight of the century” on Wednesday at KA Theatre of MGM Grand Garden Arena between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
‘Very aggressive, hard to hit’
“From Manny’s appearance, he is very aggressive and very hard to hit,” said Tyson, the 48-year-old Hall of Fame inductee who retired with a 50-win (44 by knockout), 8-loss record.
“Manny should do very well. This is going to be a great fight, no doubt about that.”
Tyson, a power puncher who knocked out his first 19 pro opponents, reiterated his preference for Pacquiao.
“I like Manny because he is punching hard and he’s very elusive and very hard to hit. This is going to be very interesting,” he said.
Tyson, the youngest heavyweight champion in history at 20, said he is hardly impressed by Mayweather’s untainted 47-0 slate.
He shook his head when asked about the American champion’s chances in the fight:
“Floyd has to force (himself) to score more than 38 punches around this guy. Manny is gonna close, Manny’s gonna be close, he will be fast and moving side to side. Floyd has got to bring more than an A-plus game (to win).”