Manny Pacquiao has pared down the amount of people around his training camp in preparation for his May 2 bout vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. His promoter Bob Arum said it's an effort to make his life easier ahead of the biggest fight of his career, but Floyd Mayweather Jr. associate Leonard Ellerbe thinks "Pacman" is cracking under pressure.
"The spectacle, the magnitude of this event is something Manny has never been through before," Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotion, said. "He's been in a lot of big fights, but there are big fights and there is a Floyd Mayweather fight. There are obligations you have and things you have to do when you're in an event of this magnitude that he hasn't had to do before. He's not fighting no Chris Algieri now. This is a whole new ballgame."
Only the performance in the ring will tell if Pacquiao is overwhelmed by the buildup, but he has been in many huge fights in his career. Both Mayweather and Pacquiao fought Oscar De La Hoya, then the biggest draw in the sport, in big money pay-per-view bouts and Pacquiao won more convincingly than Mayweather did.
Arum simply said it was a matter of keeping Pacquiao as focused as possible. "Manny doesn't need all the chaos that ensues with a grand arrival."
Ellerbe also made claims that Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach have had a "rough" camp.
"[Pacquiao trainer] Freddie Roach thinks he runs a tight camp, but I know everything that's happening there. I heard it's been a very rough camp. And now, I think it's dawning on Manny Pacquiao exactly what he's up against," Ellerbe said.
There have also been rumors about Mayweather's camp and that he's struggled against southpaw sparring partners. Mayweather commented on it during his media workout but didn't reveal much.
"I can have a good day in the gym and the sparring partners can have a good day on me. That don't count. It counts under the lights when it is for all the marbles," he said.
[Yahoo]
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