Pacquiao likes underdog role vs Mayweather

Betting lines in Las Vegas placed Floyd Mayweather Jr. as a 2 or 3-to-1 favorite. Analysts said top reasons were Pacquiao’s 2012 knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez, coupled with Mayweather’s technical brilliance in winning titles in 5 divisions. Pacquiao said he relishes the role. “I’d been in this kind of situation many times in my previous fights,” Pacquiao said. “It doesn’t scare me. I love being the underdog. It even motivates me to train hard and go for the crown.”

It took 6 years for the fight to happen. Representative from both sides of negotiations credited the involvement of CBS Corp. CEO Leslie Moonves, for bridging the gap between their parties. Mayweather claimed he was the one who put Pacquiao’s back against the wall, despite Pacquiao’s constant dares of “sign the contract.” The American boxer said, “It was very, very difficult. We forced them to fight. We gave them no choice.”

Read the full story on Rappler here and here.

Pacquiao training in pictures