‘Pacquiao will bring out the best of me,’ says Mayweather

MANILA, Philippines – Floyd Mayweather Jr’s life is about competition. As a child, he’d race his friends to see who could tie their shoes the fastest. 

In the boxing ring, where he has scarcely had competition in his 19-year pro career, he has usually had faster hands and feet than his opposition, earning him world titles in five divisions and an unblemished 47-0 record. 

Though he sometimes trains in a shirt that bears his unbeaten record on the back, Mayweather says records and milestones mean more to the public than it does to himself. 

Mayweather, in an interview with Showtime Sports, says he isn’t focused on surpassing the 49-0 mark of former heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano as he approaches his May 2 fight with Manny Pacquiao at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

But that doesn’t mean he’s willing to let his guard down. 

“All I was taught was to win, be first at whatever you do,” said Mayweather, 38, in the interview televised during Showtime’s telecast of the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr vs Andrzej Fonfara fight on Saturday night. “Everything is always first, first, first and win, win win.

“I’m a winner at life, period. One fight do not define Floyd Mayweather’s career.”

Mayweather, when asked about the prospect of losing to Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs), said the idea of facing defeat never enters his mind, while taking a jab at the Filipino boxer’s losses. 

“I don’t focus on losing, Floyd Mayweather’s a winner. I don’t worry about that. When a guy has lost before, when a guy’s been knocked out before, that’s in the back of his mind. I showed I can dish it out more than I can take it. Because if I was taking punishment, I don’t think I would have lasted this long in my career.” 

Mayweather, who is trained by his father Floyd Sr, says he has reverted back to some of the old training tactics he employed early in his career, including chopping wood to build physical strength.  

He’s also been working on specific tactics to deal with Pacquiao’s southpaw stance, demonstrating the spear jab on a punching bag during episode one of Showtime’s mini-series “Inside Mayweather vs Pacquiao”.

The spear jab, Mayweather shows, is when an orthodox boxer slips to his left – away from a lefty’s power left – and sticks a jab to the outside of his guard to keep his opponent out of position. 

Despite Pacquiao’s world title wins in a record 8 divisions, Mayweather says he doesn’t see anything specifically in Pacquiao that gives him cause for concern. 

“I don’t worry about anything. He’s a solid competitor, he’s a guy that will push me, and that’s what I need. Because he will bring the best out of Floyd Mayweather.” – Rappler.com