LAS VEGAS - Manny Pacquiao was upstairs inside the bedroom of his suite on the MGM Grand over the past weekend, catching a nap following a long day's giving a deposition in the defamation lawsuit he filed this season against fellow superstar boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Just a little after 5 p.m., his dinner of steak, rice and asparagus was delivered, where it sat, untouched, for almost 90 minutes. Finally, Pacquiao slowly, sleepily made his way along the stairs. He greeted me using a wan smile and headed towards the dining room table. He bowed his head in silent prayer, then poured steak sauce over his food.
He didn’t dig in immediately, and was much like a child forced by his parents to remain at the table until he cleared his plate. He ran his fork aimlessly with the rice, not seeming particularly hungry or wanting to talk.
It wasn’t before subject of your potential bout with Mayweather emerged - the subject that no-one fails to raise with him - he seemed to awaken. Suddenly, Pacquiao shook the sleep from his eyes to protect himself against an incessant Mayweather campaign which has painted him being a reluctant warrior.
Inside the weeks before Mayweather announced Jan. 31 he would fight Miguel Cotto on the MGM Grand Garden on May 5, Mayweather waged a public campaign to get a bout with Pacquiao. He posted on Twitter and spoke at news conferences, using every possibility to make it seem that Pacquiao was avoiding the important match.
Mayweather, it had been suggested to Pacquiao, is winning the general public relations contest handily, no less than in the U.S. As well, Pacquiao looked up from his plate and set down his fork. His eyes widened and that he leaned forward, staring intently throughout the table.
“He talks, he states all this, however you know what: He doesn’t want your dream,” Pacquiao firmly told Yahoo! Sports within an exclusive interview. “I want your dream. I’m the one who has wanted this fight all along.”
Shortly after he was granted a conditional boxing license through the Nevada Athletic Commission to address Cotto, Mayweather made a problem of Pacquiao turning down a $40 million guarantee to address him.
But Pacquiao declared was just a bluff, a pr stunt that didn’t bear any semblance to reality.
“He offered me $40 million, and no pay-per-view [money],” Pacquiao said, entering a laugh. “No pay-per-view. Is it possible to believe that? Could you do that? Think about it. What would he say basically offered him $50 million - not $40 million, $50 million - and said ‘No pay-per-view. Take these funds and be happy, but no pay-per-view.’ He wouldn’t get it done, either.”
Your dream, if it ever happens, would pit the 2 best fighters and also the two biggest appeals to the sport against the other person. It would likely generate greater than $160 million in pay-per-view revenue within the U.S. alone.
Mayweather phoned Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz inside the Philippines on Jan. 19 and inspired to speak to Pacquiao. Mayweather then told Pacquiao he’d offer him $40 million, which Mayweather later told the media “is excess of he’s ever made.”
Pacquiao said he wished to fight, but that $40 million flat wasn’t nearly fair.
“I told him, ‘OK, 50-50 [with the money] and I’ll accept everything else,’ ” Pacquiao said. “I told him I'd agree to the rest of the things he was demanding. Everything. Perhaps the blood testing he wanted, I might do it. However it had to be 50-50.”
Pacquiao said he told Koncz to supply Mayweather a guarantee of $50 million along with the rest of the revenue being split, with 55 percent visiting the winner and 45 percent exploring loser.
There was no response from Mayweather’s side, Pacquiao said.
“Manny authorized me to accomplish this and I went forward from it, but it went nowhere,” Koncz said. “That maybe it was.”
Mayweather’s manager, Leonard Ellerbe, denied this offer was developed and suggested it had been a stunt dreamed up by Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum.
Ellerbe said, “Pacquiao is lying” in regards to the offer and said the conversation with Mayweather lasted only two minutes.
“What Manny Pacquiao must understand, and i also don’t think he knows this part, is actually the fight ever is removed, he’ll never increase the risk for kind of money that Floyd makes,” Ellerbe said. “That’s due to the structure of his terrible handle his promoter.
“[Pacquiao] can be a guy who doesn’t understand what he makes battle to fight. He's no idea of in which the revenue originates from. There’s no way he’s likely to come up with something of that nature [offer] off the the surface of his dome.”
Pacquiao declared once Mayweather stumbled on an agreement to address Cotto, he chose Bradley over Juan Manuel Marquez while he thought it might be better business.
[Also: Gamboa jumps two weight classes for lightweight title fight]
Pacquiao and Marquez have fought 3 times, most recently Nov. 12, with Pacquiao winning the past two following your first would be a draw. Arum said following the Nov. 12 match, which many believe Marquez deserved to win, that he’d probably arrange a rematch.
As Pacquiao considered his selections for his next fight, he thought it might be best to put distance between your fights.
“Would you would like to see the same movie again?” he explained.
The movie might possibly not have been exactly the same had Pacquiao been at his great for Marquez. Pacquiao said Saturday he “underestimated” Marquez and that he didn’t do plyometrics training.
Pacquiao and Marquez fought with a draw at featherweight in 2004, then Pacquiao won a split decision inside a super featherweight bout in 2008. Marquez had only increased to lightweight ever since then, while Pacquiao was a full-fledged welterweight.
In Marquez’s only fight above lightweight ahead of meeting Pacquiao on Nov. 12, he was routed at welterweight by Mayweather. It absolutely was clear inside the Mayweather fight he was not big enough for the division.
That clearly didn’t escape Pacquiao’s notice.
“I underestimated him,” Pacquiao said. “I thought he was small, and i also would have no problems. It absolutely was a mistake. I shouldn’t have underestimated him.”
Just a little after 5 p.m., his dinner of steak, rice and asparagus was delivered, where it sat, untouched, for almost 90 minutes. Finally, Pacquiao slowly, sleepily made his way along the stairs. He greeted me using a wan smile and headed towards the dining room table. He bowed his head in silent prayer, then poured steak sauce over his food.
He didn’t dig in immediately, and was much like a child forced by his parents to remain at the table until he cleared his plate. He ran his fork aimlessly with the rice, not seeming particularly hungry or wanting to talk.
It wasn’t before subject of your potential bout with Mayweather emerged - the subject that no-one fails to raise with him - he seemed to awaken. Suddenly, Pacquiao shook the sleep from his eyes to protect himself against an incessant Mayweather campaign which has painted him being a reluctant warrior.
Inside the weeks before Mayweather announced Jan. 31 he would fight Miguel Cotto on the MGM Grand Garden on May 5, Mayweather waged a public campaign to get a bout with Pacquiao. He posted on Twitter and spoke at news conferences, using every possibility to make it seem that Pacquiao was avoiding the important match.
Mayweather, it had been suggested to Pacquiao, is winning the general public relations contest handily, no less than in the U.S. As well, Pacquiao looked up from his plate and set down his fork. His eyes widened and that he leaned forward, staring intently throughout the table.
“He talks, he states all this, however you know what: He doesn’t want your dream,” Pacquiao firmly told Yahoo! Sports within an exclusive interview. “I want your dream. I’m the one who has wanted this fight all along.”
Shortly after he was granted a conditional boxing license through the Nevada Athletic Commission to address Cotto, Mayweather made a problem of Pacquiao turning down a $40 million guarantee to address him.
But Pacquiao declared was just a bluff, a pr stunt that didn’t bear any semblance to reality.
“He offered me $40 million, and no pay-per-view [money],” Pacquiao said, entering a laugh. “No pay-per-view. Is it possible to believe that? Could you do that? Think about it. What would he say basically offered him $50 million - not $40 million, $50 million - and said ‘No pay-per-view. Take these funds and be happy, but no pay-per-view.’ He wouldn’t get it done, either.”
Your dream, if it ever happens, would pit the 2 best fighters and also the two biggest appeals to the sport against the other person. It would likely generate greater than $160 million in pay-per-view revenue within the U.S. alone.
Mayweather phoned Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz inside the Philippines on Jan. 19 and inspired to speak to Pacquiao. Mayweather then told Pacquiao he’d offer him $40 million, which Mayweather later told the media “is excess of he’s ever made.”
Pacquiao said he wished to fight, but that $40 million flat wasn’t nearly fair.
“I told him, ‘OK, 50-50 [with the money] and I’ll accept everything else,’ ” Pacquiao said. “I told him I'd agree to the rest of the things he was demanding. Everything. Perhaps the blood testing he wanted, I might do it. However it had to be 50-50.”
Pacquiao said he told Koncz to supply Mayweather a guarantee of $50 million along with the rest of the revenue being split, with 55 percent visiting the winner and 45 percent exploring loser.
There was no response from Mayweather’s side, Pacquiao said.
“Manny authorized me to accomplish this and I went forward from it, but it went nowhere,” Koncz said. “That maybe it was.”
Mayweather’s manager, Leonard Ellerbe, denied this offer was developed and suggested it had been a stunt dreamed up by Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum.
Ellerbe said, “Pacquiao is lying” in regards to the offer and said the conversation with Mayweather lasted only two minutes.
“What Manny Pacquiao must understand, and i also don’t think he knows this part, is actually the fight ever is removed, he’ll never increase the risk for kind of money that Floyd makes,” Ellerbe said. “That’s due to the structure of his terrible handle his promoter.
“[Pacquiao] can be a guy who doesn’t understand what he makes battle to fight. He's no idea of in which the revenue originates from. There’s no way he’s likely to come up with something of that nature [offer] off the the surface of his dome.”
Pacquiao declared once Mayweather stumbled on an agreement to address Cotto, he chose Bradley over Juan Manuel Marquez while he thought it might be better business.
[Also: Gamboa jumps two weight classes for lightweight title fight]
Pacquiao and Marquez have fought 3 times, most recently Nov. 12, with Pacquiao winning the past two following your first would be a draw. Arum said following the Nov. 12 match, which many believe Marquez deserved to win, that he’d probably arrange a rematch.
As Pacquiao considered his selections for his next fight, he thought it might be best to put distance between your fights.
“Would you would like to see the same movie again?” he explained.
The movie might possibly not have been exactly the same had Pacquiao been at his great for Marquez. Pacquiao said Saturday he “underestimated” Marquez and that he didn’t do plyometrics training.
Pacquiao and Marquez fought with a draw at featherweight in 2004, then Pacquiao won a split decision inside a super featherweight bout in 2008. Marquez had only increased to lightweight ever since then, while Pacquiao was a full-fledged welterweight.
In Marquez’s only fight above lightweight ahead of meeting Pacquiao on Nov. 12, he was routed at welterweight by Mayweather. It absolutely was clear inside the Mayweather fight he was not big enough for the division.
That clearly didn’t escape Pacquiao’s notice.
“I underestimated him,” Pacquiao said. “I thought he was small, and i also would have no problems. It absolutely was a mistake. I shouldn’t have underestimated him.”
Source : http://sports.yahoo.com/
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