SENATOR and eight-division world boxing champion Manny Pacquiao said unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr., who retired last September, cares less about the paying public and his sole motivation in the ring is to make a payday.
“I know in his heart, he doesn’t have the concern for the fans, his concern is only for money. My concern is not only for money [or] making money from the fans, from the people. My concern is how I entertain the people, how I entertain the fans. Of course, paying you money for the fight is good, but we have to remember as a fighter that you have a responsibility to make the people happy, make the fans happy,” Pacquiao was quoted by Boxing Scene.
Pacquiao, who is right now training hard for his battle against WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas on May 6 (Manila time) is eager to get a rematch with Mayweather after losing his initial showdown on May 2, 2015 by a unanimous decision at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The fight was the most lucrative event in boxing history and generated $600 million in revenue and over $4.6 million purchases on pay-per-view.
But the fight stirred considerable post-fight controversy with Pacquiao entering the ring with a shoulder injury, which he said was further aggravated during the fight. He was operated on for a torn rotator cuff three days later in Los Angeles.
Team Pacquiao also alleged that Mayweather used an IV to rehydrate after the official weigh-in, with Pacquiao’s camp only becoming aware of that a few weeks later.
Pacquiao insisted he did more than enough to win and Mayweather simply ran around the ring without putting on a show for the public.
Mayweather’s strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza, who previously worked for Pacquiao when he had an amazing run of success, told Manila Standard that in terms of money, a rematch makes sense even if they draw half the pay-per-view audience.
Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach revealed during a break in training for the Vargas fight that Mayweather had visited his Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles three times and he was curious what it was all about.
The Hall of Fame trainer believes that in order to entice Mayweather for a rematch, Pacquiao will have to put on an impressive show against Vargas and that means winning by a stoppage, which he expects the Filipino to do.