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Floyd Mayweather insists
he's 'The Best Ever'
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Floyd Mayweather insists
his superfight against Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas on May 2 will be decided by
the rivals' fists and not divine intervention. Born-again Christian
Pacquiao has drawn on his faith to enlist the aid of God by claiming the Lord
is willing him to inflict the first defeat of Mayweather's career, stating
"I believe God will deliver him to my hands".
Pacquiao's trainer
Freddie Roach has been equally keen to cast the Filipino as the hero in a
battle of "good versus evil" and the underdog would undoubtedly be
the popular victor at the MGM Grand. Mayweather, self-anointed
as 'The Best Ever', has embraced the role of villain for the majority of his
flawless 47-fight career, glorying in a lavish lifestyle of excess that often
draws attention away from his technical brilliance and work ethic.
AFP report continues:
The 38-year-old, however,
highlights his own faith to counter Pacquiao's belief that God is present in
his corner.
"God loves us all.
I'm a fighter. I'm a professional prizefighter, that's what I do. I believe in
God, I love God. I've been blessed all my life. I don't think God takes
sides," Mayweather said.
"Whether you're
American, Filipino, African, Dominican, Asian, we're all God's children. I
don't think he roots for which of us he wants to win.
"People are going to
root for who they want to root for, it's plain and simple. I'm pretty sure I
have Filipino fans who like me and I'm pretty sure there are black American
fans who like Pacquiao.
"I never try to
focus on anything like that. I just try to focus on the best fighting the
best."
The most lucrative clash
in boxing history is expected to generate £332million with Mayweather taking
£100million, a sum that will translate to the highest annual earnings for any
athlete barely five months into the year.
The dizzying figures
reflect a bout that has been five years in the making with the two greatest
boxers of their generation finally meeting in a welterweight unification match.
More important to
Mayweather than the WBA, WBC and WBO titles the rivals are risking is the
unblemished record that provides the foundation for his self-belief and fuels
his bravado.
The stakes are high, but
the long-term pound-for-pound king is remaining calm as one of the sport's
biggest events ever staged approaches.
"My team is
grounded, I'm not really going crazy. It's just a fight to me. I know it's the
biggest fight in boxing history, but I can't approach it like that,"
Mayweather said.
"I can't put any
unnecessary pressure on me. My thing is to just be Floyd Mayweather. This one
is a little over the top. I just try to stay relaxed.
"People ask how this
fight is going to be fought. I can't say. I'm no psychic. I can't predict the
future. But like I've said
before, I'm going to be at my best on May 2. My gameplan is to win."
Mayweather is odds-on
favourite to dispatch Pacquiao - bookmakers predict a points decision is the
most likely outcome - but refuses to underestimate an opponent who strung together
three successive wins since losing to Tim Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez.
"He got to this
point by doing something right. It's obvious. I have to respect that,"
Mayweather said. "I want to give the
people what they want to see and that's the best facing the best. He's one of the
last good fighters of this era, so this is a fight that had to happen and I'm
glad the fight is happening. Give them what they
want to see - the best facing the best."
Pacquiao-Mayweather
tickets go on sale on Thursday
Press Association reports
tickets for the richest fight in boxing history, between Manny Pacquiao and
Floyd Mayweather, will go on sale Thursday after the two camps put their
squabbles aside and finally reached a deal.
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Commemorative stamps of
Philippine boxing icon Manny Pacquiao are displayed at a post office in Manila
on April 21, 2015 ©Jay Directo (AFP)
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The release of tickets
will come just nine days before the May 2 fight after being held up for weeks
because of a contract dispute between Pacquiao's camp, Mayweather Promotions
and the MGM Grand Hotel.
Wednesday's announcement
paves the way for a very limited number of seats to go on sale in the Grand
Garden Arena. Organizers declined to say how many seats would be offered for
sale.
Organizers said Grand
Garden tickets will be priced between US$1,500 and US$7,500 and closed circuit
seats at Las Vegas area venues are priced at US$150.
But very few tickets are
expected to be available to the public, as the majority of seats in the Grand
Garden arena are being reserved for sponsors, organizers and friends and family
of the two camps.
Tickets are supposed to
go to Pacquiao and Mayweather's camps, HBO, MGM Grand and Showtime for
distribution.
The ticket fiasco is just
that latest issue of contention in the build up to the fight which is expected
to generate a record US$400 million in revenue.
The sides also argued over
drug testing, who would come out last to the ring for the fight, who would
sponsor the fight and how much to charge for the pay-per-view which will cost
around US$100.
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