Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants a fight with Manny Pacquiao “real bad,” according to a new report.
The potential megafight has dominated boxing headlines over the past year, and rumors and speculation ramped up following Pacquiao’s easy win over Chris Algieri in November.
Now Sam Watson, who is close to Mayweather’s adviser Al Haymon, says that Mayweather does really want to fight Pacquiao.
“Floyd wants to fight him real bad. Floyd, that’s all he talks about is fighting Manny Pacquiao,” Watson told Fight Hype.
“So once the deal is set and done, you'll see the biggest fight you ever saw in your life. I believe there’s going to be two fights.”
That refers to the reported rematch clause that Mayweather has insisted go into the contract.
Pacquiao’s dominant win over Algieri has only made Floyd want to fight him more, Watson says.
“He beat [Algieri] up real bad. He whipped on that boy. He’s back to being Manny Pacquiao. That makes the fight great for Floyd. Floyd wants him to be at his best,” said Watson.
“Everybody thought that he had slowed down. He didn’t slow down. Floyd’s got the best defense. Floyd’s the smartest fighter out there. Floyd’s my best friend in the world. So I can’t wait until that fight happens.”
The megafight is estimated to bring in upwards of $1 billion, with Mayweather getting more money than Pacquiao but each getting a slice of the pay-per-view revenue.
The fight needs to happen soon, because both fighters are expected to retire after several more matches.
“It’s going to be a great fight. Pacquiao’s going to hit him too. Pacquiao’s going to hit him just like (Miguel) Cotto hit him,” said Watson, referring to Mayweather’s unanimous-decision over Miguel Cotto in May 2012.
“It’s going to be a real fight. Ain’t no fight easy. At this stage, no fight is easy. That’s why they fight for millions and millions of dollars. And Floyd loves spending money, so Floyd is gonna fight his ass off.”
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