Mayweather: I’m a boxer, not a slugger

MANILA, Philippines - Just before he celebrated his 36th birthday last Wednesday, Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao threw verbal jabs at Floyd Mayweather Jr. He said Mayweather’s fights are boring, and that most of them, if not all, “induced us to sleep.” He also said Mayweather has reached a “dead end.”

It did not take long for Mayweather to counter. Speaking to FightHype.com, the elusive champion said if his fights were boring, the pay-per-view numbers doesn’t show.

“I think me and (Carlos) Baldomir (in 2006) did better numbers than him and the undefeated fighter (Chris) Algieri,” said Mayweather of the welterweight fight that did 325,000 PPV hits.

Mayweather is the king of pay-per-view.

Pacquiao retained his WBO welterweight crown by knocking Algieri down six times in Macau last month. Reports said the fight, held at high noon to accommodate the US audience, did 400,000 in pay-per-view.

Mayweather said if fighting the right fight is boring to some, then he doesn’t care.

“Last time I checked, it’s not called slugging; it’s called boxing. I mean, that’s what happened in the (Juan Manuel) Marquez fight. You was trying to play tough guy and we see what happened.

“It’s about working smarter, not harder. When he was fighting Brandon Rios, he wasn’t slugging. He was boxing. If you’re doing it just for the fans, then you can give the money back to the fans if that was the case,” he said.

Win or lose, Pacquiao is entertaining to watch, and for the Filipino champion, that’s what fans deserve to see.

Pacquiao has openly challenged Mayweather to make the fight happen, and that he’s not after the money, adding that, “I’m not after material things.”

Mayweather told Ben Thompson of FightHype. com that he’s doing the right thing when he fights. He has perfected the art of hitting without getting

hit.But in his last couple of fights, Mayweather had shown cracks in his armor, suffering a bloody nose against Miguel Cotto, and taking more shots in two fights against Marcos Maidana than he had in years.

Mayweather, in the eyes of some experts, is now hittable and beatable.

“The cool thing about Floyd Mayweather’s career is I was able to dish out punishment, not take punishment, make a lot of money, and have all my faculties. That’s the cool thing about my career.

“What’s so crazy is they’re always talking about Floyd Mayweather fights are boring. I mean, it’s an art and last time I checked, I’m an artist and I paint a beautiful picture. A bloody mouth, a bloody nose, cut lip, broken ribs; that’s not beautiful on me,” he said.