LAS VEGAS?There was singing, dancing, cheering and beat-box mimicking. Heck, there was even a marching band. The only thing missing on Tuesday was that certain vibe to match the magnitude and importance of this Saturday?s mammoth showdown between pound-for-pound greats Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Manny Pacquiao arrives at the fan rally at the Convention Center of Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday, 28 April 2015. PHOTO BY REM ZAMORA/INQUIRER/ See more at FRAME
The two held separate welcome events at separate venues ? that Pacquiao staged his at the Mandalay Bay was expected because of the growing rift between MGM Grand, which will host the May 2 fight between the two elite welterweights, and Top Rank chief Bob Arum, the Filipino star?s promoter.
Mayweather held his own Vegas coming out party at MGM?s Grand Garden Arena. And while Pacquiao stuck to the narrative he has been riding in the last few days of his Los Angeles training camp, Mayweather applied a different tack in a bid to massage an image that has been taking hits recently in the media.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. during his grand arrival at the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada on Tuesday, 28 April 2015. PHOTO BY REM ZAMORA/INQUIRER/ See more at FRAME
?I ask you all not to be nervous,? Pacquiao joked in front of a huge crowd that found their way to Mandalay Bay?s Convention Center Bayside C auditorium. ?I?m the one who?s going to fight on the ring, so don?t be nervous.?
READ: Pacquiao: Relax, I?m going to beat Floyd Mayweather
Bible verses, beauties? parade
Pacquiao then went to quoting his favorite Bible verses, telling the crowd that handing Mayweather his first loss was a strong possibility because ?I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.?
Mayweather took a different approach in his welcome event.
The unbeaten American superstar, after about an hour of festivities, rolled into the venue in a black SUV and walked to stage behind a parade of beauties and serenaded by a marching band that proclaimed ?nobody does it better?? than Pretty Boy Floyd and the cheers of his fans.
