Manny Pacquiao faces Timothy Bradley on June 9 in an HBO pay-per-view fight in Las Vegas. Leading up to the fight, Pacquiao is sharing weekly thoughts and training updates with HBO.
Question: At this point, what is keeping you and Floyd Mayweather Jr. from climbing into the ring together? Will the fight ever happen? How important is to you being considered one of the best of all time when your career is over? Was that your goal when you started fighting eight divisions below where you are now?
Manny Pacquiao: The only thing preventing a fight between Floyd Mayweather and me is Floyd Mayweather. He no longer wants to split the pay-per-view revenue with me equally, something he agreed to in our first negotiation.
Will the fight ever happen? It’s up to Floyd. I hope it does. I’m a competitor and I enjoy a challenge. I know the fans want to see us fight. I think it would be good for boxing. As long as I continue fighting I will remain hopeful that the fight will take place.
To be considered an all-time great is very important to me. Hopefully my story can inspire people to achieve their dreams. When I was growing up, watching Sugar Ray Leonard, Roy Jones Jr., and Larry Holmes fight inspired me to work harder and to become better. They still do inspire me. They were great. They were my heroes.
I never dreamed that I would achieve as much as I have. I wouldn’t even dare to dream of winning world titles in eight different weight divisions. My goal when I began boxing was to earn enough money for my family to make their lives easier and to win a world title — to be considered the best in my weight division. But as opportunities presented themselves — world title fights at higher weights against superstars — I worked harder and studied harder. Every victory was an incentive to do better in my next fight.
I believe it is the responsibility of every boxer to put on a good show for the fans and themselves. It’s the only way to grow and invest in the sport. Making boxing fans happy is a legacy that would make me proud.
24/7 Pacquiao/Bradley debuts Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on HBO. Episode 2 debuts June 2, while the finale debuts June 8, the night before the high-stakes welterweight title bout.
Pacquiao vs. Bradley takes place June 9 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
