Mayweather-Pacquiao Press Conference Shows Superfight Will Be All About Business
Maybe Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. were as tired of the chatter as everyone else.
In fact, for a fight that had been talked, rumored and fantasized about for more than a half-decade since they first shared the welterweight crown, the Los Angeles press conference that finally kicked off 52 days of hyperbole on Wednesday afternoon was decidedly docile by blockbuster standards.
Though the soon-to-be foes marched to the stage to the strains of “Jock Jams” era arena-rock staples—AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” for Pacquiao; Queen’s “We Will Rock You” for Mayweather—their respective demeanors upon finally meeting face to face were far nearer to cordial than combative.
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Pacquiao went all in on the business meeting look with a sport jacket and tie, while Mayweather looked positively ready for a casual Friday with his own jacket and slacks, sans tie. And though their crowd-friendly smiles faded to stone-face visages upon stepping to choreographed spots about a body’s width apart from one another, there was none of the gesturing or gibberish often leaned on to sell lesser events.
This one, for opening day at least, was enough to sell itself.
The Filipino and the Michigander-turned-Nevadan faded quietly into the background upon taking their seats on the dais, as a laundry list of corner-office executives stepped forward to congratulate each other on assembling a May 2 event that—on the backs of the two 147-pound guys—could challenge established records for pay-per-view buys, gate receipts and gross revenue come May 3.
Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, whose enmity for Mayweather since the two ended their promotional relationship had been seen as an obstacle to the match, reveled particularly in the fact that the fight—even without a catchy nickname or marketing tag—has made boxing a player on a global scale.
“It’s great to be part of an event that so elevates the sport of boxing,” he said. “When we compare it to other events, major events, like the Super Bowl and even the Olympics. We get worldwide attention to those events, but it’s been rare to have that worldwide attention focused on a boxing match. The entire world will be watching May 2 in the U.S., May 3 in Asia, but they’ll all be watching.”
Only Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, broke genial protocol by turning toward Mayweather and claiming that he and charge were going to “kick his ass,” but the outburst barely caused a stir from the five-division champion, whose own remarks required some context to be rendered inflammatory.
“One thing I do know, about any sport, when you lose, it’s in your mind,” he said, referring indirectly to his unbeaten record after 47 pro fights, and Pacquiao’s five losses in 64. “If you lost once, it’s in your mind. If you lost twice, it’s in your mind. From day one, I was always taught to be a winner no matter what, be a winner, push yourself to the limit, stay focused and be the best that you can be.”
The mandate clearly covered behavior on day one, but seven weeks is eternity to hold a tongue.
Given each man’s affinity for social media, each man’s entourage’s fondness for open microphones and the sport’s longstanding lean toward the roughly hewn, it almost certainly won’t be long before approaches veer from gentlemanly to juvenile and headlines move from businesslike to bombastic.
Team Mayweather will do something stupid. Team Pacquiao will post something stupid. And Teddy Atlas, whose supposition-heavy/evidence-light rant about Pacquiao and performance-enhancing drugs on ESPN’s pre-show wandered awfully close to libelous, will more than likely say something stupid, too.
Boxing, after all, is boxing.
But for one day, at least, two 147-pound guys made it feel like the real thing.
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