Mayweather’s pop admits he thought fight much closer
Floyd Mayweather Jr., right, sits in his corner with his father, head trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr., left, during his welterweight title fight against Manny Pacquiao on Saturday, May 2, 2015 in Las Vegas. Mayweather Sr. admitted he thought things were much closer in the fight between his son and Pacquiao at MGM Grand Garden Arena. AP PHOTO/ISAAC BREKKEN
LAS VEGAS—Floyd Mayweather Sr. admitted on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) he thought things were much closer in the fight between his son Floyd Jr. and Manny Pacquiao at MGM Grand Garden Arena here.
“I told Floyd he needed to do a lot more because we know some judges are crooks,” the trainer said after the bout.
Dave Moretti scored it 118-110 while Glenn Feldman and Burt Clements saw it 116-112 all for Mayweather on Saturday, allowing the brash Michigan-born star to improve his undefeated card to 48-0 on the way to unifying the World Boxing Council, World Boxing Association and World Boxing Organization crowns.
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Floyd Jr. revealed on Saturday after the press conference that his father wanted him to unload more against Pacquiao to put the match beyond doubt. Mayweather Sr., according to his son, was affected by the roaring cheers Pacquiao got every time he launched an attack.
“It had an effect on him mentally and he thought the fight was close,” said Pretty Boy Floyd. “My dad was on my ass the whole time because every time [Pacquiao] threw a punch, even when he missed, the crowd would cheer.”
Mayweather, however, knew better.
“I knew judges wouldn’t buy the crowd screaming,” he said, adding that the judges would see how he was making Pacquiao miss and then how he was landing solid counterpunches.
READ: Floyd: Ex-Manny man Alex Ariza huge factor in victory
In fact, before the scorecards were officially announced, Mayweather climbed a ring corner, faced the fans and the media in front row and screamed “I knew I won, I knew I won!”
While there was no doubt Floyd Jr. had dominated the match with his uncanny defensive skills, there were still those who felt the bout should have been closer.
“I think Manny won a lot of those rounds because he was the aggressor,” said trainer Freddie Roach.
Still, Roach felt the same thing the jampacked crowd felt when it crowned Pacquiao the unofficial winner of the fight billed the greatest in two decades.
“I’m very proud [of Manny],” he said. “He hurt his opponent several times and landed good combinations. It was a close fight, and we’d love to do it again.”
READ: Pacquiao cries conspiracy
Pacquiao came into the fight nursing a right shoulder injury and felt that he could have done more had he been allowed to take shots to numb the pain before the match. The eight-division champion felt the Nevada State Athletic Commission (NSAC) “sabotaged” his chances of giving a fair fight by disallowing him to take shots before the match.
The Pacquiao camp also claimed on Sunday that the NSAC and the Mayweather camp conspired to put him at a disadvantage against Mayweather.
“We tried to file for an exemption for a shot for the numbing of my shoulder but the commission did not allow it,” Pacquiao said.
After the fight, though, NSAC officials told journalists that they denied the request of the Pacquiao camp because of its timing. Pacquiao made the request for shots an hour and a half before opening bell.
READ: Pacquiao to go under knife?
“Boxing is supposed to be a combat sport and it’s supposed to hurt,” said NSAC chair Francisco Aguilar. “You’re supposed to feel pain. You can’t put a fighter up on the ring who can’t feel pain because that would be dangerous.”
Aguilar brushed off suggestions his commission intentionally denied Pacquiao his shots to favor Mayweather.
“This is not the first time we’ve experienced this,” he said. “We’ve had years dealing with these problems so we know what we’re doing.”
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