LAS VEGAS — After Manny Pacquiao’s trainer said last week that he would like more than 24 hours’ notice to inspect and approve Floyd Mayweather’s gloves for Saturday’s welterweight blockbuster, multiple sources close to the promotion said that request will be granted.
Glove approval is expected to occur in conjunction with Wednesday’s final press conference, rather than with Friday’s weigh-in and rules meeting, multiple sources said.
Freddie Roach, who trains Pacquiao, last week told MLive that he would like to inspect and approve Mayweather’s gloves earlier than one night before the fight.
The night before fighting Marcos Maidana the first time last year, Mayweather threatened to pull out of the bout over a gloves flap.
Maidana was forced to change to a different pair of gloves than his preferred pair.
The Mayweather camp also raised an objection this week over Pacquiao’s protective cup, Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum said. Arum said a state commission official visited Top Rank gym Tuesday to inspect and approve the cup.
NOTES
Floyd Mayweather: I’m held to a different standard than Pacquiao Mayweather: If I had gotten knocked out by Juan Manuel Marquez, this fight wouldn’t be happening. A half-grand arrival: Pacquiao’s team opted to conduct its own pep rally and press conference at Mandalay Bay Tuesday morning rather than participate in the traditional “Grand Arrival” event, which was conducted at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Mayweather said Pacquiao should have participated. “So many different sponsors and networks came together to make this big event happen, and I think we both should have been here, as professionals,” he said. Mayweather said Pacquiao did not face the same criticism he would have for similar actions. “If I got knocked out by (Juan Manuel) Marquez, the fight would’ve never happened. If I didn’t show up for the Grand Arrival, and I did it somewhere else, it would’ve been on the front page. Because the standards are always different for me,” Mayweather said.
About that entry music: Pacquiao recorded his own ring-entry song for Saturday night, titled, “I Will Fight for The Philippines.” Pacquiao, the congressman from Sarangani province, hopes for a long political career after his boxing career ends. “The song is all about the way I desire to help people. And that’s me. That song is really touching because when we made that song, lonely time, because it’s a sad time. The song is from the heart. All of us, we have desire to help people and we have desire to give honor to our country. So that’s part of the meaning of the song,” Pacquiao said.
A somber day: One day after Pacquiao pleaded for the Indonesian government to spare the life of Filipina Mary Jane Veloso, that nation executed eight other convicted drug smugglers by firing squad — but not Veloso, who was returned to prison.
Floyd Mayweather plans to honor Showtime contract, fight once more While he admitted retirement is around the corner, Mayweather plans to honor his Showtime contract, which would mean one more fight in 2015. Mayweather’s final year: Mayweather reiterated that he will not fight beyond the conclusion of his Showtime contract this year, but insisted he would complete the deal, which has one fight left after Saturday. “I’m loyal and I’m a man of my word. If I say I’m going to do six fights, I’m going to do six fights,” he said.
Not quite fired: Mayweather wasn’t happy with the way the second Maidana fight went last summer and suggested that he and Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe might have to part company because they no longer were on the same page. Yet when this fight was made, there was Ellerbe, his role unchanged. “Last fight, I said some things about my friend that I want to apologize for,” Mayweather said. “It’s very immature that I spoke and said some things about Leonard that I shouldn’t have said. I was kind of upset. But real friends go through certain things. We’re still here, we’re still going strong.”
Scalpers don’t deserve it: Both sides have taken heat for the ticket scale, from $1,500 to $7,500 for the 500 tickets made available for public sale, not including the $10,000 VIP tickets which weren’t available. It created a live-gate windfall of about $73 million, but Arum said the alternative was to price the tickets lower, and then “the scalpers would make more money.” Arum said the decision to boost the original price was to avoid having money go to people who weren’t involved in the promotion. “If you have a $10,000 ticket and it’s selling for $40,000 on the secondary market, why should it (original price) be $5,000? It puts another $5,000 in a broker’s pocket. Why?” Arum said.
