MANILA, Philippines – It is a fight that needs no hyping.
The well-attended press conference Thursday announcing the super fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao – the first of only two pressers scheduled for the match – proves the magnitude of the bout, which is billed to be the richest ever in boxing history.
And for Mayweather, not much is needed as far as promotional chores are concerned.
In a report by Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin Iole, the undefeated American said he would rather focus on training for Pacquiao than selling the fight.
"This fight will sell itself, which is a great thing," Mayweather said of his clash with the Filipino icon on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
True enough, the Las Vegas-based fighter was a picture of calmness at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, far from his usual brash attitude in pre-fight media conferences for his past fights. His super fight with Pacquiao is the biggest one of this era, one that would rake in record profits in gate attendance and pay-per-view buys.
Mayweather is also considering it to be the biggest match of his brilliant career. That’s why he’s leaving the promotion to Pacquiao and concentrating on his preparation instead.
"He's [Pacquiao] doing a lot of media, talk shows, which is great. I prefer him to do it so I can train," he added.
Pacquiao will try what 47 other boxers before him failed to do – stop Mayweather’s 47-bout winning streak. He was in his usual gracious self at Thursday’s press conference, thanking Mayweather and his team for helping the fight turn into reality.
Mayweather likewise had nothing bad to say about Pacquiao.
"I think Manny is a very interesting fighter," Mayweather said. "For him to get to where he's gotten to, it's obvious he had to do something right."
For both fighters, there’s no need to badmouth each other to sell a fight of this caliber. More importantly for Mayweather, he’s done with the pre-fight theatrics for now.