AFTER unanimously outscoring Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas, and moving to 48-0, Floyd Mayweather re-entered the MGM Garden Arena for the press conference rightly proud of his performance. Although he refused to admit it, the fact he won the ‘Fight of the Century’ was clearly a big moment in his career that he insists only has one more fight to run.
“You all said I was scared of him,” he said through swollen lips. “Well, I’ll be getting up early, and I want to see read some positive stories tomorrow.”
There will certainly be praise for an intelligent performance that slowly drained the ambition out of his rival. At the halfway mark of their 12-rounder, the contest was poised after the Filipino clearly stung Floyd in rounds four and six. But for all of Manny’s aggression, he struggled to land forcefully again.
“I knew he was going to push it and win some rounds,” Mayweather remarked. “He had some moments in the fight, but I kept him on the outside, I was a smart fighter. I wasn’t getting hit with a lot of shots until I sat in the pocket, that’s when he would land a lot of shots.”
“He’s [Pacquiao] a hell of a fighter. I take my hat off to him. Now I see why he’s one of the guys that are at the pinnacle of the sport of boxing.”
Mayweather, who plans to relinquish his WBA, WBC and WBO welterweight titles, refused to be drawn on who’s next, and greeted talk of a showdown with Amir Khan – or even a rematch with Pacquiao – with requests to be left to enjoy this latest victory. He insists he will only fight once more.
“I have one more fight,” he said. “My last fight is in September and then it’s time for me to hang it up. I’m almost 40 years old now. I’ve been in the sport 19 years and have been a champion for 18 years, I’m truly blessed.”
