One day during a break in training in Hollywood, Manny Pacquiao brought up the idea of seeing a video of Floyd Mayweather in action, a move that convinced Freddie Roach that the Filipino pride is up to something.
Even when he was up against foes deemed too big and too powerful for him in the past, Pacquiao hardly bothered to take a close look at his opponents, saying that he had them all figured out.
While Pacquiao feels that he has Floyd Mayweather all figured out as well this early, the fighting congressman appears to be not content with just pulling off a victory on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
“I can tell how much this fight means to Manny because he has watched tape on Floyd. Manny has never watched tape on any fighter before,” said chief trainer Freddie Roach.
Unbeaten in 47 fights, Mayweather is the favored fighter in the scheduled 12-rounder but Roach insists that Pacquiao’s southpaw style will spell the difference.
“I believe that Manny being a southpaw will be a factor in this fight. Manny showed me tape of Floyd fighting a southpaw and told me that that is exactly what we are going to do in this fight.”
Pacquiao is not relying solely on his lefty stance to steer him to victory.
“I have a lot of sparring partners that are similar to Floyd’s fighting style, we have done well. We know what to expect,” said the 36-year-old Pacquiao, who will enter the ring as the underdog for the first time since he battled and beat up Oscar De La Hoya in 2008.
Besides, Roach thinks that Mayweather is not mentally in tip-top shape for Pacquiao, saying the 38-year-old Michigan native never wanted to face Pacquiao as he ran out of places to hide.
“I don’t believe that Floyd ever wanted this fight, he was forced to take it by the public and the media. I wouldn’t be surprised if Floyd pulled out now.”