Buong yabang na sinabi ni WBA at WBC welterweight at junior middleweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. na napilitan si WBO 147 pounds titlist Manny Pacquiao na tanggapin ang kanyang alok na laban dahil kailangan ng Pinoy boxer ang malaking pera.
Maghaharap sina Mayweather at Pacquiao sa Mayo 2 sa MGM Grand sa Las Vegas, Nevada sa pinakamalaking laban sa kasaysayan ng boksing na may premyong $200 milyon.
Para kay Mayweather, “nakasandal sa pader“ ang likod ni Pacquiao dahil sa malaking problema sa buwis sa Estados Unidos at Pilipinas.
Inaasahang wawasakin ng welterweight megabout ang lahat ng rekord sa professional boxing na tulad ng pay-per-view record na $2.4 milyon na naitala ni Mayweather nang talunin ang kababayang si Oscar De La Hoya noong 2007.
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“And like I said before, I’m blessed and you can never take nothing for granted. The only thing I did was constantly work, constantly believe, constantly pray, and anything is possible,” sabi ni Mayweather sa Fighthype.com. “And like I said before, I can retire today and I’m okay. I was very, very smart investing my money in a lot of real estate, doing business with my big tycoon buddies. The great thing about my career is I did it my way.”
Bagamat siya ang maraming dahilan para hindi matuloy ang sagupaan, pinalalabas pa ni Mayweather na napilitan lamang si Pacquiao na tanggapin ang sagupaan dahil sa malaking pangangailangan.
“A lot of guys are forced to do things that they don’t want to do. I honestly believe that, at this particular time, even if Pacquiao didn’t want to fight, he has no choice because his back is against the wall,” giit ni Mayweather. “The reason why his back is against the wall is because he needs the money. I don’t. Every property that I have, from Miami to LA to Las Vegas, is paid for.”
