Manny Pacquiao’s long-time assistant trainer and dietician Nonoy Neri said that Pacman must apply tremendous pressure on Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the early rounds of their upcoming mega fight on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, to tire out the unbeaten American.
“We already saw his [Mayweather] weaknesses in his previous fights not only with Marcos Maidana,” Neri told The Manila Times on Wednesday via phone interview. “Manny needs to hit him with a lot of power-packed punches and put a lot of pressure on him.”
“I’m pretty sure Floyd will run out of gas because Manny will chase him and then hit him with timely punches,” he added. “Marcos Maidana is not faster and stronger than Pacquiao, but he gave Mayweather a lot of problem. Manny will whip him up in the whole 12 rounds.”
Neri, who agreed to Mike Koncz’s comment that Pacquiao doesn’t need a knockout win to beat Mayweather, predicted that the fight would go the distance since the World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association welterweight champion is a hit-and-run type of a boxer.
“There is no knockout, I guess. But if ever Mayweather will run out of gas, I think Manny has a great chance of knocking him out because he will be forced to engage,” said Neri. “Cramps won’t be a problem if he chases Mayweather.”
But the father and trainer of Mayweather, Floyd Sr., said that the World Boxing Organization welterweight southpaw champion has an inferior footwork and no defense.
“This is one of the easiest damn southpaws Floyd is going to have a fight with. Man, Pacquiao, come on, man. I’m just trying to tell you, they gonna see when it’s time to go in the ring. Ain’t nothing to talk about. Floyd right now can definitely outthink him,” Floyd Sr. told Ben Thompson of fighthype.com.
“Outthinking him ain’t even the problem . . . Lookie here, man, he don’t ever move his head. If people don’t see that, shit! Pacquiao has no footwork, he blocks with his face, and he can’t even spell defense . . . He’s the most hittable man in the world.”
“You gonna see that. You gonna get a chance to see exactly what I’m talking about. Floyd gonna hit him so easy. Floyd will dominate him bad. He gonna paralyze him. Floyd got a good chance of knocking him out.”