LAS VEGAS – It was Manny Pacquiao – and not Floyd Mayweather – who broke the ice and said something during the traditional “stare down,” where both fighters stand eyeball-to-eyeball, following a weigh in.
Mayweather, apparently taken aback, did not respond as the two completed the weigh in Friday afternoon at the MGM Grand with Pacquiao at 145 pounds and Mayweather 146 pounds.
It’s been Pacquiao who has been pushing the envelop in one-on-one meetings with Mayweather although Floyd, unexpectedly, shared a laugh with the Filipino icon during last Wednesday’s press briefing.
It was Pacquiao who again broke tradition by saying something when in the past these stare downs were silent affairs.
But what Pacquiao said wasn’t trashy although Mayweather may have been surprised by it.
“Thank you,” Pacquiao reportedly told Mayweather.
Later, Pacquiao explained that it was a simple gesture of expressing his appreciation for Mayweather’s decision to fight him after years of failed negotiations.
But Mayweather said he didn’t understand what Pacquiao exactly said.
“I don’t’ know what he said to me,” said the 38-year-old US fighter, who didn’t respond.