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Days away from the May 2 fight, and both Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are staying remarkably chill. Yesterday, Pacquiao told a crowd of fans to "relax." The night before that, Mayweather was spotted roaming around Las Vegas, just wandering and shopping. Both fighters are relishing the hype, and letting it fuel their own agendas.
During a pre-fight media event, ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap got some one-on-one time with Mayweather. He inquired about the preparation Mayweather's put into the fight, saying “You’ve studied a lot of film. You know a lot about [Pacquiao]." Mayweather's response was candid, and surprising to most: “Um, I didn’t study a lot of film. I don’t know a lot about him.”
Is undefeated Floyd Mayweather really about to step into the ring without having done his homework? Or is the outright dismissal of Pacquiao just fighter banter mixed with gamesmanship?
Actually, it's what Mayweather always does.
In past interviews, Mayweather's stated that in his pre-fight training, he doesn't watch any film of his opponents, ever. He told ESPN in 2013, "When you fight Floyd Mayweather, you have to come with a different game plan. It doesn't do me any good to watch him fight somebody else."
And in 2010, before his fight against Shane Mosley, he told AskMen, "I don’t adjust my training for any of my opponents. I don’t watch films on my opponents. It doesn’t matter who I face -- when I get in there you know the outcome. This fight will be no different."
We'll see if the 38-year-old boxer still has the ability to force opponents into game planning for him—not the other way around—come Saturday.
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[via The Big Lead]
