Manny Pacquiao has arrived in Las Vegas ahead of Saturday’s clash with Floyd Mayweather to a rapturous welcome, telling his thousands of fans;
“Don’t get nervous. I’m the one fighting, so relax”
“Anytime I am the underdog, I like that. It means my killer instinct and my focus is fully there. This is the moment I believe that he will experience his first loss.”
After the frenzied arrival at the Mandalay Bay, Kugan Cassius of iFLtv caught up with Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum and asked him what had prompted the two arrivals of the fighters at separate hotels. He said;
“We selected the Mandalay Bay which is an MGM property because we wanted to do not just a grand arrival but a rally for the filipino people who live in the United States. We had dancing and singing and it was an ethnic filipino thing that worked tremendously. Because of their support over the years for Manny we felt that they deserved a celebration. That’s not to preclude anyone else from coming. It didn’t have to just be filipinos but I think it went tremendously well.”
“Had we done it here (MGM) they might have been some objection from the Mayweather people because quite so, they say why is it so filipino oriented? So in order to avoid that we took it to another hotel – one of the MGM hotels – The Mandalay Bay”
Probed on the atmosphere, which is building to fever pitch on the Vegas strip, Arum said;
“I have never seen such excitement and interest and the numbers we are getting from all over the world are just tremendous. I mean, I’ve never seen anything like it. Everybody in the world, the United States, the UK is talking about this fight.”
Asked if he could sum up why the fight had taken so long for the benefit of those fans without in-depth knowledge of the politics, Arum said;
“If I could sum it up, I would be a genius. There were obstacles along the way, I don’t know why but all’s well that ends well, the fight is happening on Saturday/Sunday in the UK and we finally got it done. And funnily enough, because of the starting and stopping and trying to get it to happen and not being able to – It’s bigger than ever.”
Asked if he believes it is the biggest fight in boxing history, Arum appeared dismissive, attributing the occasion’s size to social media.
“No of course not. You gotta understand the technology here (2015) is just so more advanced than it was. I mean is it bigger than when Joe Louis fought Max Schmelling? I don’t think so.”
“Of this century? Absolutely but when you go back to the last century we have Ali/Frazier, we have Leonard and Hagler. Is this fight bigger? It’s hard to say. I don’t think so.”
Twitter @Undilutedpoison
