Bob Arum spent three straight days watching Manny Pacquiao work out and spar at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood last week and came out even more convinced that Floyd Mayweather is destined to suffer his first loss in 48 fights on May 2.
Arum had openly talked about how Mayweather abhors fighting southpaws and the 83-year-old Hall of Fame promoter saw with his own eyes how Pacquiao is going to get the job done in the scheduled welterweight 12-rounder at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“Manny did seven rounds and he’s just doing very, very well,” said Arum, one of only a few men alowed access into the first floor gym of the Wild Card that has been pretty much locked down ever since Pacquiao reported for training camp more than three weeks ago.
Pacquiao, 36, began the sparring phase of his eight-week buildup last March 17 by doing five rounds with two sparmates. In his latest escapade, Pacquiao banged bodies with three Mayweather clones, according to Arum.
There’s been talk that a fighter who used to be a regular at Mayweather’s gym will be called in to do some additional work and reveal some secrets.
But Arum insists Pacquiao is doing so well and Roach is very pleased with what he had seen that it might not even matter anymore.
Still, Pacquiao has a few more sparmates at his disposal and the true colors of these men will be known when the sparring sessions are fought in more rounds and under intense conditions.
Meanwhile, Mayweather, unbeaten in 47 fights with 26 KOs, has also been making waves in Las Vegas, where he has been training behind closed doors.
The past few days, Mayweather, 38, has been devouring just about anyone who was sent to test him, including lefty Zab Judah, a former foe who gave him a big scare when they fought ten years ago.
Mayweather is a 2-1 favorite but ringsiders believe Pacquiao is a very live underdog and that the odds might even shift to his favor by fight week.