Floyd will KO Pacquiao with body punching, right hands, says Mayweather Sr.

MANILA, Philippines – Floyd Mayweather Sr., whose son Floyd Jr. will face Manny Pacquiao on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, is predicting a big win for his son when the two finally meet in the ring.

And Mayweather Sr., who fought as a welterweight contender in the 70s and 80s, thinks it’ll be body punching that sets it up.

“If you’ve ever seen Pacquiao fight, against everybody, you never see nobody going to his body – you never see nobody going to his body,” Mayweather Sr., who also trains his son, told MLive.com. 

“So my thing would be is to tell Floyd, hit him with the straight right hand and left hook, and then go back to the body.”

(RELATED: Pacquiao relishes underdog role vs Mayweather)

Pacquiao has lost once by knockout on body shots. In 1999, after losing his WBC flyweight title on the scales due to missing weight, he was knocked out in 3 rounds by a right hand to the body from Medgoen Singsurat.

Mayweather Jr. (47-0, 26 knockouts) has been a noted bodypuncher in his career, having knocked out former junior welterweight champion Sharmba Mitchell – who like Pacquiao is a southpaw – with a straight right hand to the midsection.

There are other punches that a left-handed fighter is vulnerable to, Mayweather Sr. points out, particularly straight right hands, which is a weapon that Mayweather has perfected into a trademark.

“A southpaw is definitely geared to be hit with right hands. I’m going to say that, along with the body work, it’s going to be a good right hand and a left hook that’s going to put him down,” said Mayweather Sr.

“I know one thing, I know every move that Pacquiao does,” he said. “That ain’t no problem. He’ll jump in with the jab, and when he jumps in with the jab, he ain’t going to throw nothing behind it. He only throws one or two punches. When he jabs, because he jabs with his right hand, Floyd can pick it, or slide and dig to his body. There’s all kinds of ways you can do things.”

Mayweather Sr. has worked against Pacquiao once, having been in Ricky Hatton’s corner in 2009 when Pacquiao knocked Hatton out in two rounds with a single overhand left. The KO was deemed the year’s best knockout by THE RING magazine.

Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) began light training immediately after Mayweather announced that the welterweight super-fight was a signed deal on Saturday morning Manila time. Mayweather Sr. says he wants his son to get started as well.

“It’s time to get down to business. Don’t cheat yourself or beat yourself, you understand?,” Mayweather Sr. said. – Rappler.com