LOS ANGELES – Manny Pacquiao moved around the ring at the Wild Card Boxing Club on Tuesday as if he was already standing right in front of Floyd Mayweather.
As he bobbed and weaved, using lightning-quick head and shoulder motion aimed not only to break his defense but also to mess him up, Pacquiao threw single rights and lefts on the strands and cornerpads.
The punch traveled in a straight line, cutting through the balmy air inside the gym and hitting the target in a snap that left the ropes wiggling, the ring posts shaking and the canvas reverberating.
One thing is crystal-clear: Pacquiao intends to inflict hurt and pain the first chance he gets when they square off on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao says he has all Mayweather all figured out and the battle plan calls for an all-out war at the onset.
Still, Pacquiao will not go out there looking for a knockout, saying he has to carefully plan his shots to avoid a repeat of his devastating one-punch knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012.
“I will try to win each round by using my quickness, volume punching and (punching) power,” said Pacquiao, a 2-1 underdog but a live one at that.
But Pacquiao knows it will take more than just those ingredients to deal Mayweather his first defeat in 48 fights.
Mayweather is a consummate competitor and is such an egotistical kind of guy that he will have to go through the grinder to get the job done.
Pacquiao, however, feels the time has come for Mayweather to feel what it’s like getting beat.
“It’s time for him to lose,” he said.
Trainer Freddie Roach is upbeat that Mayweather will meet his match in about ten days time but victory won’t be handed on a silver platter, complete with Mayweather’s head as the centerpiece.