By this time, Team Pacquiao is on its way to Las Vegas for what could be a long wait to eternity.
Despite the glare of the spotlight and the chaotic frenzy of the media and fans as the fight nears, it will be the loneliest week for both Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.
Deep inside them, they will conjure the fight the way they were laid out and strategized for them in training.
They might be able to set these scenarios aside for some brief moments for the obligatory press briefings and deluge of well-wishers. But when they see those billboards of their fight and are held to brief moments by themselves, they will have those playback-fast forward flashes.
Floyd Mayweather Jr., left, and Manny Pacquiao, of the Philippines square off this Sunday (Philippine time). Pic: AP.
Only the closest in Team Pacquiao knows what his fight strategy will be comes fight night.
Like Pacquiao, Mayweather was also cloistered during training. Like the electric Filipino boxing champion, he too has reviewed the tapes of his opponent?s best fights.
Each has been looking for opportunities to exploit the slightest mistakes and tendencies that each fighter has.
But all those preparations will be behind them when they face each other atop the ring.
What one was set and prepared for might not be what they will have when they begin hitting each other.
There are many nuances of the fights that are worth looking for.
That Pacquiao will throw punches in bunches and in a pace that he is known for albeit a little more discreet this time is a given.
Mayweather, as everybody knows, is a master of evasion. He makes a living out of it.
It is the nuances of the fight that make the Mayweather-Pacquiao encounter worth waiting and interesting to watch.
Hometown decision. Mayweather makes Las Vegas his principal home. He rakes in big money from high-rollers whenever he fights in the Sin City. It is hard to imagine him losing by a close decision. Pacquiao, despite fighting a total of 14 times already in Las Vegas ? 11 of them at the MGM Grand ? clearly is still a gatecrasher. He needs to score a knockout or a very convincing decision to offset Mayweather?s perceived hometown advantage.
Dirty tactics. Mayweather has all the smarts to make some foul shots look legit. He pushes with his elbows and in the case of Victor Ortiz, may hit during break. He will surely use all the tricks in the books to unsettle Pacquiao.
Fear factor. Pacquiao has always been known to already evoke fear on his opponent even before the first punch is thrown. Those who didn?t quickly realize how strong he is the moment Pacquiao lands his introductory power punch. Pacquiao needs to let Mayweather feel the sting of his punches.
Patience and Frustration. Pacquiao needs to be patient against Mayweather?s vaunted defense. That means absorbing a lot from Mayweather in order to get that opening. He can look in the past. Against Chatchai Saisakul, he was way behind on points until he was able to connect the one big punch in the 7th round that sapped the will of the Thai engage him. The following round, he hit Saisakul with a powerful left hook to the chin and put the lights out for the Thai. Pacquiao can also turn around the table and work frustration into his favor. He must make Mayweather believe that the latter is already a loser in agreeing to fight him. And proving he can take the best punches of the flamboyant American might just do it because at these late stages of their careers, Pacquiao cannot hope to outbox the slick Mayweather.
Adjustment. Mike Tyson once said ?everybody has a plan until they get hit.? When everything in training does not work, it is the fighter ? seasoned as both are ? who can easily adjust and shift gears and dictate the tempo of the fight that will emerge superior. Mayweather is very good at it. But Pacquiao could be a difficult challenge.
Again, the strength and weaknesses of each fighter have been scrutinized to the limit.
But nobody has an idea yet how the fight will turn out to be. Oh, Sunday what will you be?
