by Derick Ramos
The boxing world will come to a standstill on May 2nd when Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao square off at the MGM Grand Arena in a matchup for the ages. Before the two square off in Las Vegas, both fighters found themselves face to face at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles to promote their much anticipated fight. There were no punches exchanged, just a long stare down and some barbs thrown from both camps.
Mayweather remained his confident self during the press conference without resorting to trash talk. The unbeaten American subtlety reminded everyone of his undefeated record and making a small dig at Pacquiao’s previous losses.
“I know one thing about sport, and if you lose, it’s in your mind,” Mayweather quipped. “I have always been a winner.”
In contrast, Pacquiao remained his humble thanking both sides for making the fight for the fans and God’s work for making him the fighter he is today.
“I believe this is what you are waiting for since five years ago” Pacquiao said to the boxing world. The Filipino fighter also wanted to inspire while he had the stage. “God can raise someone from nothing into something”.
Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, provided the confidence on his fighter’s behalf.
“I’ve been looking forward to this for a long, long time,” the ten time trainer of the year said. “We’re fighting the best fighter in the world and we’re going to kick his a–. Good luck, Floyd”
Both camps and networks stood side by side on stage and posed for the cameras for the fight’s one and only press conference. With sports networks like ESPN treating the mega-fight like a Super Bowl, the two fighters will be bringing boxing back to the sporting world forefront on May 2nd. The fight is expected to break records for gate and PPV buys. Regardless of who comes out on top between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, the real winner will be the sport of boxing.
Quick Hits: Rising star Gennady Golovkin continues to dominate the middleweight division by stopping Martin Murray in the 11th round. He faces Willie Munroe Jr on May 16… NBC kicked off Premier Boxing Champions with a return to boxing on primetime. Adrien Broner easily outpointed John Molina Jr and Keith Thuman survived a slugfest with Roberto Guerrero taking the unanimous decision… light heavyweight Sergey Kovalev earned a TKO victory over Canadian Jean Pascal in Montreal.
