Manny Pacquiao proves he's the nicest man on earth as he says 'thank you' to Floyd Mayweather during weigh-in stare-off
That is, the nicest man on the planet until Pacquiao steps into the ring
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Your support makes all the difference.More than 11,000 boxing fans flooded into the MGM Grand Garden Arena to witness Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao weigh-in for the biggest and most lucrative fight in history – yet you wouldn’t know it by glancing at the Filipino great.
As legendary ring announcer Michael Buffer announced Pacquiao’s arrival into the arena, the diminutive welterweight nearly missed his cue as he was busy taking selfies with fans. He then strolled to the ring with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen spread across his face, and soaked up the adulation of a partisan crowd that was clearly in favour of ‘Pacman’ even though Mayweather is on home territory.
Mayweather soon made his way out, and the two both weighed in under the 147lbs weight limit before staring down each other one final time before they meet in the ring.
So were there any fireworks, jitters or trash-talk between them? Not a chance. Incredibly, as the two greatest boxers of this generation came face to face, Pacquiao told Mayweather “thank you” before nodding at him.
This came after he consumed a bar of chocolate immediately after weighing in at 145lbs – a pound lighter than his American rival – and he constantly played up to the fans that were going barmy for him every time he appeared on the big screen.
Asked afterwards why he thanked Mayweather, Pacquiao said: “I was thanking him for the fans, that the fight will happen.
“I feel relaxed and ready for the fight. He's a little bit worried, I'm different to the 47 [previous fights].
“We are focused on being ahead on points after every round.”
Mayyweather, himself looking much more relaxed than usual, claimed he didn’t catch what Pacquiao said, and was more focuses on what he needs to do to win the ‘Fight of the Century’.
“I don't know what he said but my thing is to focus on what we've got to do tomorrow,” said ‘Money’.
“My frame of mind is to be smart, listen to this man right here because without my father I wouldn't be where I'm at.
“I think all 47 fights played a major key, I've dedicated myself to the sport of boxing for over 20 years. I'm ready to fight.
“For 19 years as a professional I wouldn't be the man without the fans. I want to be the best Floyd Mayweather I can be.”
Pacquiao’s trademark kindness has seen him accumulate the mass of fans that will cheer him on in the early hours of Sunday morning. He has reportedly paid £2.6m of his own money to buy tickets for his 900-strong entourage, with his promoter Bob Arum claiming Pacquiao paid £6,468 for his ringside ticket.
Once the fight is over though, that fee won’t hurt too much, with Pacquiao set to take home a 40 per cent share of the £300m-plus generated form the fight. The other 60 per cent will be going to Mayweather, of course.
However, once he steps through the ropes. the apparent nicest man on the planet changes his mindset to morph into one of the most fearsome when in the world. A record of 57 wins, five defeats and two draws with 38 knockouts to his name is unrivalled by many, and he is the only man to have won world titles across eight different weight categories.
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