JOSEF T. RAMOS
Ring legend Manny Pacquiao said it is not money that is motivating him to challenge Floyd Mayweather Jr. to the dream match that the boxing world has been waiting for.
“I’m fighting for the fans, fellow Filipinos and not for anything else. Money won’t be an issue. Let’s make the fight happen, Floyd Mayweather Jr.,” Pacquiao told The Manila Times in a phone interview on Sunday.
“I even challenged him to a charity fight before,” Pacquiao, who totes a record of 57 wins, 5 defeats and 2 slate draws, said.
Last Friday, Mayweather, 37, told Showtime Sports in the US he wants to fight the Filipino star in May next year, but only if he receives a much bigger share of the purse than his opponent.
He said Pacquiao, who will turn 36 on December 17, was desperate to make the fight happen because his popularity was waning and his pay-per-view revenues were slipping.
Mayweather who holds the World Boxing Council and Super World Boxing Association welterweight crowns, blamed Top Rank Promotion head Bob Arum for holding back on the megafight.
But the Sarangani congressman said “Mayweather talks too much. Let’s just sign the [fight] contract.”
Last month, Pacquiao scored a unanimous decision victory against previously unbeaten American Chris Algieri in Macau, China.
Mayweather’s last fight was in September, when he beat Argentinian Marcos Maidana via unanimous decision.
“I will train very hard in this fight and make it very exciting. I will chase him wherever he goes,” Pacquiao said.
He said he will try his best to make the bout “a thrilling and entertaining fight. But I doubt if he’s gonna engage me in a slugfest.”
“You all know his fighting style. Most of his previous fights, if not all, induced us to sleep,” said Pacquiao.
“I know what I have to do. I will chase him wherever he goes just in case he decides to run around the ring. We will devise a good fight plan against him,” he added.
In 2012 there was speculation that a fight between the two could lead to the first $200 million purse in boxing history with much of that money coming from pay-per-view sales.
At one point Pacquiao says Mayweather offered him a $40 million purse on the condition Mayweather would keep the pay-per-view money, which would have amounted to more than double what Pacquiao received.
Previous talks were also scuttled because Mayweather says Pacquiao refused to submit to random blood testing.
WITH AFP
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