LOS ANGELES – In 47 fights, nobody could make head or tail of Floyd Mayweather.
Next week in Las Vegas, Manny Pacquiao will become the first to prove that he has the cocky American fighter “all figured out” after their scheduled 12-round welterweight unification match.
“I already know what to do when I face him,” Pacquiao told members of the media after an eight-round sparring session and a six-round punch mitts routine that only maintained Freddie Roach’s belief that victory is within reach.
Pacquiao is a 2-1 underdog in his bid to become the first to inflict Mayweather a loss in nearly 20 years.
The last time Mayweather dropped a bout was in the amateurs, having lost a controversial decision to Serafim Todorov of Bulgaria in the semifinals of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Mayweather’s unbeaten record, Pacquiao insists, doesn’t impress him.
“I have also fought undefeated fighters before and we all knew what happened to them,” he said, assuring those around him that Mayweather’s immaculate slate means nothing to him.
In the final days leading up to the biggest bout in history, Pacquiao is a picture of supreme confidence, somebody who seems to be unperturbed by the daunting task ahead of him.
“Don’t you all worry,” Pacquiao told scribes for the third straight day.
“Remember, I am the one fighting not you.”
Such is Pacquiao’s level of optimism that it appears that it’ll be just a matter of time before he knocks the pound-for-pound crown off Mayweather’s head.
But achieving that won’t be easy as Mayweather, 38, has proven many times that he has the uncanny ability to adapt to a particular situation almost at the press of a button.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, feels they have armed themselves with enough ammo needed to smoke Mayweather out.