Mayweather lives up to 'Money' moniker

LOS ANGELES - As he finished speaking at the post-fight conference of his showdown with Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. approached some reporters in their seats dangling a check he just claimed after a night's work.

It was a check issued by Bank of America indicating a staggering $100 million (about Php4.46 billion).

"No pictures, though," Mayweather, sliding the check out of an envelope. "Don't want any pictures of it."

On Saturday (Sunday in Manila) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Mayweather reminded everyone why he proudly calls himself "Money".

He just outpointed Pacquiao in boxing's richest fight ever, fashioning out a unanimous decision victory in front of over 16,000 fans. And he was paid handsomely for it.

Since the fight went the full 12 rounds, Mayweather has made around $55,000 per second. He did it by side-stepping his way out each time Pacquiao cornered him on the ropes and countering the gritty Filipino with jabs and short rights.

The $100 million check was just the first of other possible paychecks Mayweather will receive, when income from the live gate receipts, pay-per-view buys and other revenue sources comes in. He walked away from the ring a big winner - unifying the WBC, WBA and WBO welterweight titles - and will even be a bigger winner when he walks into the bank.

His boxing brilliance has made him the world's highest paid athlete for several years now.

"The ultimate goal is to make nine figures in a night. And that's what I did," he said at the dais.

Mayweather has been a staple in Forbes' list of world's highest-paid athletes, ranking first in 2014 with total earnings of $105 million. Pacquiao, for his part, is at 11th with total winnings of $41 million.

Pacquiao, for his part, was handsomely rewarded as well, taking home around $80 million, or roughly P3.5 billion. He is also entitled to a share of other revenues generated by the fight.

But unlike the unbeaten Mayweather, Pacquiao isn't someone who loves to brag about it. - With report from AP

source: philstar.com

After win over Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather plans one more fight before retiring

After beating Manny Pacquiao to maintain his unbeaten record, Floyd Mayweather reiterated that he plans to fight just one more time.

With one more fight, the 38-year-old Mayweather will fulfill his rich six-fight deal with telecaster Showtime.

And with one more victory he would match the iconic 49-0 ring record of Rocky Marciano.

“My last fight is in September, and then it’s time for me to hang it up,” the 38-year-old Mayweather said.

Mayweather has insisted throughout the build up to the Pacquiao fight that 49-0 would be enough for him — although skeptics think that should he get there he won’t be able to resist trying for a 50th win.

“I’m almost 40 years old now. I’ve been in this sport for 19 years and have been a champion for 18 years. I’m truly blessed.”

source: interaksyon.com

Manny Pacquiao embraces underdog tag: ‘It gives me more motivation’

Floyd Mayweather at 38 could be the perfect target for Manny Pacquiao, the Filipino ring icon’s trainer Freddie Roach said Wednesday.

As Mayweather and Pacquiao turned out for their only joint press conference in the build-up to their May 2 mega-bout, Roach said the unbeaten Mayweather’s vaunted defensive abilities are waning.

“His legs are little bit shot. He’s slowed down quite a bit,” Roach said, adding that he believes Mayweather would have had a better chance of beating Pacquiao five years ago, when attempts to make the fight fell apart.

“He is going to have to exchange more,” Roach added — with a pithy dismissal of the idea that Mayweather has recently become more willing to go toe-to-toe in an effort to please fans.

“That’s bullshit,” Roach said. “He doesn’t care about the fans. He has to exchange more because his legs won’t take him out of the way … if he has to exchange with Manny Pacquiao he is in trouble.”

Mayweather brings a record of 47-0 with 26 knockouts to the bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Although Pacquiao is two years his junior, it was the Filipino whose career appeared to be on the wane after back to back defeats in 2012.

Since then, however, the southpaw has won three fights in a row to take his record to 57-5 with two drawn and 38 knockouts.

He’s the underdog, but said Wednesday that just adds fuel to his competitive fire.

“I like that,” Pacquiao said. “It gives me more motivation, more determination to focus on the fight and prove something.”

source: interaksyon.com

Time running out for Pacquiao, Mayweather to book May megafight, says Roach; Floyd to announce decision on his birthday?

Time is running out for Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather to book a May 2 showdown, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach said Tuesday.

Amid a welter of reports in recent weeks that a deal for the much-anticipated bout was all but done, Roach warned that a decision would be needed soon if both fighters are to prepare adequately.

“We are getting really close,” Roach said of reaching a cut-off for declaring a May 2 fight a reality.

“I need eight weeks. That window is getting smaller and smaller.”

In fact, Roach said, he could make do with a slightly shorter training camp with Pacquiao, the eight-division world champion who said Monday in the Philippines that a deal was “near.”

On an eight-week schedule, the first fortnight would be core training and general conditioning, Roach said.

“The boxing would start six weeks out, because if you go more than six weeks with Manny you’ll burn him out because of his work ethic.”

Pacquiao is 57-5 with two draws and 38 knockouts, while Mayweather is 47-0 with 26 knockouts.

Fight fans around the world have clamored for years for a showdown between the boxers widely regarded as the best “pound-for-pound” fighters of their generation.

The Sunday Telegraph in Britain reported that the pair had agreed to a $250 million deal, although on Sunday night in New York, Mayweather said in a brief television interview during the NBA All-Star Game that nothing had been signed by either party.

Last year, Mayweather used the occasion of his 37th birthday on February 24 to announce his opponent for a May 3 bout — plumping for Argentina’s Marcos Maidana and snubbing England’s Amir Khan.

A similar birthday announcement by Mayweather would make for a nine-week lead time to a May 2 fight.

Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum last month ignited buzz over the fight when he said negotiations had been “narrowed down to extraordinarily small points.”

On Tuesday, however, Arum took himself out of the prophecy business.

“I know nothing,” Arum said of the state of negotiations as he attended a public workout at Roach’s Wild Card gym for Chinese fighter Zou Shiming.

Roach, however, thinks the fight — which ran aground in 2009 — will happen.

“I think we’re close enough it will happen sometime in the near future,” Roach said. “Floyd says he wants to fight. Manny says he wants to fight. Fights get made like that.”

Pacquiao said this week he had agreed to the Mayweather camp’s demands regarding drug testing.

Pay-per-view bonanza

Published reports citing sources close to the Filipino ring icon have also said he has agreed to give Mayweather the lion’s share of what promises to be the biggest pay-day in boxing history.

“I think it would be the biggest fight of all time,” Roach said. “A lot of it has to do with the world we’re living in — you have pay-per-view almost everywhere.”

Those pay-per-view revenues have added another wrinkle to the negotiations, since the fighters are under contract to rival US telecasters, Showtime and HBO.

If fight fans do get the bout they’ve been waiting for on May 2, Roach has no doubt who will bring the fireworks, with Pacquiao ready to take some risks to make an exciting fight.

That’s not something he expects from Mayweather, a slick defender who Roach believes is reluctant to risk his unbeaten record.

“I don’t think he really cares about the fans,” Roach said of Mayweather. “I think he just wants to do enough to win. Manny’s not like that. That’s why Manny’s been knocked out a few times. That could happen again, but I’d rather see a fighter get knocked out trying to win than just trying to go the distance.”

source: interaksyon.com