suggesting the fight may instead be an exhibition<\/a> \u2013 leaving the official status unclear.<\/p>\nPacquiao had previously claimed the 50-0 fighter may be wary of risking his perfect record, but now admits he remains unsure of Floyd\u2019s intentions.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what his strategy is, but we signed for a real fight,\u201d Pacquiao said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd both of us signed already.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manny Pacquiao throws a right at Floyd Mayweather Jr. during their blockbuster fight in 2015.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Considered the greatest pound-for-pound fighters of their generation, both men are also widely ranked among the greatest ever.<\/p>\n
Mayweather has long insisted he is the best to ever do it, naming Roberto Duran and Pernell Whitaker at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively.<\/p>\n
Pacquiao, however, was more diplomatic when asked if he agrees.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe is self-proclaimed [greatest]\u2026 but I will not place my own chair,\u201d the southpaw sensation said.<\/p>\n
Pac-Man then reeled off his own unique accomplishments.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn my side, I can claim that I\u2019m the only eight-division world champion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can claim I\u2019m the only fighter who became a champion in four decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fans can judge us, but I don\u2019t think he [Mayweather] can claim with any of his accomplishments that he\u2019s the only one.\u201d<\/p>\n
When pressed on whether Mayweather sits among the top 10 fighters of all time, he shrugged.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe could be,\u201d said Pacquiao.<\/p>\n
Pacquiao and former unified champ Errol Spence Jr. were scheduled to fight in 2021 before the American withdrew due to an eye injury.<\/p>\n
The bout never eventuated, but it was one Pac-Man was very confident of winning.<\/p>\n
Now, with Australia\u2019s Tim Tszyu closing in on a showdown with \u201cThe Big Fish\u201d, Pacquiao had some advice.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all depends on how he prepares for the fight and what he sacrifices\u2026\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd footwork is the most important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aussie fight fans have long debated how a prime Pacquiao would have fared against Kostya Tszyu \u2013 a matchup the Filipino legend loves the sound of.<\/p>\n
\u201cBack in the day with Kostya Tszyu?\u201d he grinned.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s definitely a good fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Manny Pacquiao is touring Australia.Source: FOX SPORTS<\/p>\n
Asked which modern fighters possess similar footwork and speed to himself, Pacquiao paused.<\/p>\n
\u201cNaoya Inoue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has similar footwork \u2013 and footwork is the key. <\/p>\n
\u201cLike in basketball, footwork helps the dribbling and handling. Same thing in boxing, the footwork executes your gameplans.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the most important thing is hard work, discipline and blessings from God.\u201d<\/p>\n
When pressed on how the Mayweather showdown on September 19 will play out, Pacquiao stayed characteristically humble.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be an exciting fight, I\u2019m looking forward to it and I know the fans are excited to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n
For updates and pre-sale access: www.mannypacquiaotour.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao is set to touch down in Australia, with the eight-division world champ announcing a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":624505,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[447],"tags":[703,49,48,82],"class_list":["post-624504","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624504","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=624504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/624504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/624505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=624504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=624504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=624504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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