Manny Pacquiao has heard Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s criticism of him as a reckless fighter, and said he will make no apologies for his fan-friendly style.
"Reckless fighter? That's how people like me and love me, because they like an exciting fight," Pacquiao said. "We call this boxing, (and) boxing is more punching. We talk about punching."
Mayweather Jr. may sit atop the pound-for-pound throne heading into their May 2 clash, but at both fighters' height, Pacquiao was the more popular among fans. Mayweather Jr. may have made more money, but he was certainly the heel. Pacquiao played that up recently, noting that he agreed to many of Mayweather's stipulations because the fans wanted the matchup so badly.
"If my concern is myself alone, I don't (think of) the fans," Pacquiao said. "Then the fight, it's hard to make happen. Because of course, I don't want to take 60-40, a disadvantage and everything. I agreed with that for the sake of the fans. I agreed to make the fight happen."
His trainer Freddie Roach characterized the upcoming super fight as "good against evil," and said Pacquiao's as strong right now as he has ever seen him.
"I haven't really seen him have this much speed and power in a long time," Roach said. "My chest hurts really bad right now. You can see how much it means to him. He lives for these huge moments, and he knows what this fight means. Floyd is in trouble."
Pacquiao said he hopes Mayweather comes to the ring May 2 ready to fight, and not be as defensive as fans have sometimes seen him against big punchers.
"If he does [want to engage], that's good for me," Pacquiao said. "I like that. We'll see. That's what I want, and that's definitely what the fans want - action."
[Yahoo]
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