Manny Pacquiao criticises Floyd Mayweather's exhibition match as Adrien Broner fight training inensifies
Pacquiao defends his WBA title against Broner on 19 January
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Your support makes all the difference.Manny Pacquiao has criticised Floyd Mayweather for fighting Tenshin Nasukawa in a farcical exhibition match that was ‘not good’ for boxing fans.
Pacquiao, who defends his WBA welterweight title against Adrien Broner in Las Vegas on 19 January, had a dig at his rival for staging an exhibition boxing match against a 20-year-old kickboxer.
Nasukawa’s corner threw in the towel inside the first round after Mayweather knocked down the Japanese kickboxing sensation three times on his way to picking up $9m for taking part in the exhibition event.
The fight did not feature on either man’s professional record and Pacquiao was critical of Mayweather’s decision to fight the 20-year-old in Tokyo.
“I won’t do that. If I’m Floyd I wouldn’t do that,” said Pacquiao. “An exhibition match where you just knock him out. That’s not good for the fans.
“My legacy is already there. I want to be an inspiration to the fans and the people not only inside the ring but also outside the ring.”
Pacquiao is training with Freddie Roach at Hollywood’s Wild Card gym ahead of his first since beating Lucas Martin Matthysse in July 2018.
Mayweather and Pacquiao fought in the most lucrative fight of all time in 2015 and the Filipino boxer says he is not concerned about an eagerly anticipated rematch.
“At the age of 40, it’s hard to think about future fights,” he said. “Just one at a time.
“I still have it. God is good.”
Broner is fighting Pacquiao on the back of a draw against Jessie Vargas and a crushing points defeat against Mikey Garcia.
The American, however, is confident he can beat Pacquiao is he gets his shot selection correct.
“It’s proven that you don’t have to throw a lot of punches to beat Manny Pacquiao. You might only have to throw one and that mother f**** can go to sleep,” he told Fight Hype.
“That ain’t a myth, the mother f***** has been asleep before. The most important part of fighting Manny Pacquiao is throwing the right punches at the right time.”
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