‘Mayweather is terrified,’ says Justin Fortune

LAS VEGAS, USA – Before Manny Pacquiao battered and bruised Oscar de la Hoya to earn worldwide acclaim, he was a hungry champion moving up the scales in search of the big paydays that come along with super stardom.

In his earliest successes on American soil, Justin Fortune assisted head trainer Freddie Roach in helping prepare Pacquiao for the bouts that defined him as an all-action attraction against Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and Erik Morales. 

Fortune says he has seen that level of drive in the 36-year-old Filipino boxer as he trained for his May 2 fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. And he expects it to translate to the ring. 

“Mentally he is so motivated, I haven’t seen him this motivated since the Morales and the Marquez fights,” the 49-year-old strength and conditioning coach Fortune told Rappler on Monday evening as he checked into his hotel room in Las Vegas.

Despite battling throat and neck cancer, Fortune has been working with Pacquiao every day to get him ready for what is expected to be the highest grossing boxing event in history. Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 knockouts) wrapped up training camp on Monday afternoon with a final sparring session before he traveled to Las Vegas.

Pacquiao is staying at his usual suite at the Delano Las Vegas adjacent to the Mandalay Bay, and will not participate in the traditional “grand arrival” on Tuesday afternoon at the MGM Grand.

The MGM has prominently displayed Mayweather’s ring attire for many of his biggest fights near the main entrance, and the gift shop includes two Philippine flag-themed Mayweather shirts intended to get under the skin of Pacquiao.

“It is bad energy and Manny doesn’t want to be around that sort of people,” said Fortune, who reunited with Pacquiao for his 2014 rematch with Timothy Bradley after several years apart. “On fight night, he’ll use that energy and turn it around. That motivates him even more.”

Pacquiao will instead hold a fan rally at the Mandalay Bay at 11 am Tuesday. 

The Mayweather camp appeared confident on Monday afternoon, with father/trainer Floyd Sr saying he thinks his son will back Pacquiao up in the fight and eventually stop him. Uncle Jeff Mayweather said people are expecting the version of Pacquiao from five years ago to return. 

But Fortune feels that Mayweather and his camp are doing their best to hide their concerns about fighting the Filipino southpaw.  

“To us, if you’re talking all that smack and stuff, you’re scared. I know Mayweather is terrified, he never wanted this fight in the first place. He was pushed into it,” Fortune said.

Fortune says Pacquiao will taper down with some running, sprints and punch mitt work on Tuesday and Wednesday, then go for a walk on Thursday before shutting it down for Friday’s weigh-in.

The task of defeating the world’s unbeaten pound for pound best boxer is one Fortune acknowledges can only be accomplished by fighting as close to a perfect fight as Pacquiao can. But Fortune believes Pacquiao is the man to do it.

“If he listens to Freddie’s game plan, he beats Floyd,” said Fortune. “But Floyd is Floyd, he’s no dummy. Never, ever, ever will we underestimate this guy.”

– Rappler.com

Ryan Songalia is the sports editor of Rappler, a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) and a contributor to The Ring magazine. He can be reached at ryan.songalia@rappler.com. Follow him on Twitter: @RyanSongalia.