HONG KONG – Manny Pacquiao is saving his best for Floyd Mayweather Jr.
And even before negotiations could begin, Pacquiao is already thinking of the super fight that the whole world is aching to see.
Pacquiao declared his readiness to fight Mayweather right after he floored Chris Algieri six times Sunday to retain his WBO welterweight crown.
The future Hall of Famer from the Philippines was satisfied with his performance against Algieri but was a little conservative.
From one to 10, he gave himself a seven.
“If I will rate myself in that fight, it’s a seven. It’s not yet a 10,” said Pacquiao.
“But if it’s Floyd Mayweather, it should be nine or 10. If it’s Mayweather, I will use more of plyometrics,” he said the day after the Algieri fight.
Pacquiao added that he will be willing to fight Mayweather at 147 and may not go any higher.
“One forty-seven,” he told Pinoy scribes.
“And if I fight him it will not be only for one fight. It could be two or three fights,” said Pacquiao, hinting that a rematch clause, either way, will have to be part of the contract.
Bob Arum said the fight could take place in the first six months of 2015, and could be held in any other venue outside Las Vegas, including the massive AT&T Center (former Cowboys Stadium) in Dallas.
Pacquiao’s adviser, Mike Koncz, said Pacquiao is seriously planning to move down to 140 where his power will be as evident as before.
Koncz added that at 147, Pacquiao was finding it difficult to score knockouts because he’s facing opponents that are naturally bigger than him.
“What people don’t really understand, especially the casual boxing fans is that we’re fighting at a weight much higher than our natural body weight,” said Koncz.
“So it’s not because Manny lost his power. But these guys are big and strong and they’re used to the power punches. Anytime we fought in the welterweight division, we’re easily giving 20 to 30 pounds,” he said.
Like everybody else, Koncz is hoping for the Mayweather fight to happen.
He said Pacquiao will do his best to make sure it does.
“I don’t want to throw any numbers (regarding the purse) because that’s going to hurt the negotiations,” said Koncz.
“But we’re very negotiable. We’re not expecting to take the lion’s share. If we have to give a little bit to get the fight we will do that,” he added.