Pacquiao still feels he beat Mayweather

MANILA, Philippines – Manny Pacquiao says he doesn’t look back at his fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr with regret. In fact, he believes he should’ve gotten the decision in their long-awaited showdown.

“I never regret. In fact I thought I won the fight. A lot of people, my fans, believe I won the fight,” the 8-division Pacquiao was quoted by BoxingScene of their May 2015 fight, which Mayweather won by unanimous decision.

Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 knockouts) will be stepping into the ring for the first time since that night on April 9, when he faces WBO welterweight titleholder Timothy Bradley for the third time at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Pacquiao, 37, has told the public that the fight against Bradley (33-1-1, 13 KOs) will be the final of his 21-year career. Both hold decision wins over each other, though overwhelming opinion is that Pacquiao deserved the win in both fights.

Mayweather has since announced his retirement following a decision win over Andre Berto in September, dampening the possibility of a rematch.

Compubox punch statistics favored Mayweather in their fight, with Mayweather being credited for landing 148 of 435 punches thrown for a 34% connect percentage, while Pacquiao is credited with landing 81 of 429 for a 19% connect percentage.

Not everyone in Pacquiao’s camp believes that he got the better of the action. Speaking with FightHub, Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach lamented a poor execution of strategy by Pacquiao, and feels the right rotator cuff injury Pacquiao sustained in training for the fight, and which was aggravated in the fight, hamstrung his performance.

“I think Manny with two hands would’ve done better. I think a lot of people thought he won the fight anyway but I personally don’t,” said Roach. – Rappler.com