A clip of Floyd Mayweather assessing Manny Pacquiao’s power has added some contextual significance ahead of their professional rematch on September 19.
The pair will square off in a second encounter at The Sphere, Las Vegas, with Mayweather gearing up for his first sanctioned bout since 2017.
Despite the ‘professional’ tag attached to his crossover showdown with Conor McGregor, many would argue that it was nothing of the sort, as ‘Money’ comfortably stopped the UFC star in 10 rounds.
Nevertheless, the five-division world champion temporarily ended his career with an astonishing 50-0 (27 KOs) record, before entering a series of exhibitions and, more recently, announcing his return to a professional ring.
Pacquiao, too, has been involved in several exhibition matches since their first encounter in 2015, while having also amassed eight professional outings.
The most recent of which saw him box to a controversial draw against Mario Barrios, the then-WBC welterweight champion, in July, which followed a near four-year hiatus that came after his defeat to Yordenis Ugas.
Even when he lost a unanimous decision to Mayweather, the Filipino was thought to be well past his prime, or at least a far cry from the formidable puncher that stopped Ricky Hatton in 2009 – one of the 39 knockouts in his 73 bouts.
It should therefore come as little surprise that Mayweather, while speaking with REVOLT over six years ago, had only a few words of praise for Pacquiao’s punching power.
“Don’t get me wrong; Pacquiao’s obviously got power. He’s solid. It ain’t nothing I’ve never felt before, but he’s solid.
“He felt me too – and that’s why he wasn’t quick to run in there – so we felt each other.”
Entering their rematch at the age of 49 and 47, respectively, Mayweather and ‘Pac Man’ are certainly not the punchers they once were, but seemingly still believe they have what it takes to defeat one another.