Fighting Boxing : Mayweather Jr. hopes Pacquiao can bounce back from loss

Erstwhile rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. had some encouraging things to say for Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao, telling Ben Thompson in an interview for boxing website fighthype.com, “The only thing he can do is rejuvenate himself and bounce back like a true champion.”

Pacquiao was KO’d in stunning fashion by Juan Manuel Marquez, Saturday (Sunday, PHL time), in their fourth ring encounter at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

“Marquez is a true champion. Manny Pacquiao is a true champion. Both of them went out there and put on a good performance, and that’s a good thing for the sport of boxing,” Mayweather said.

“I wish Pacquiao nothing but the best. I wish he can bounce back and he can recoup from this….You have to really, really dedicate yourself to your craft. I think he’s got so many different things on the outside that he worries about, you know. But it was a good thing that he was able to come into the sport, you know, piggyback off my name, and get a bunch of endorsement deals and make a good living.”

Fans have longed desire a Pacquiao-Mayweather bout, but various disagreements over drug testing and a split of the profits, have scuttled plans before they truly got off the ground. In the wake of Pacquiao’s defeat, the idea of the two getting into a ring together now seems even more remote.

“Pacquiao’s focus should be trying to take a vacation, get his mind right, and get a few tune-up fights so he can bounce back,” Mayweather said when asked about the chances of a fight between the two of them.

“I’m not here to talk bad about Pacquiao. I feel bad for him, honestly….There’s a difference in the ways you can get knocked out. When you gotta wake a guy up with smelling salts and he got a concussion and he gotta go to the hospital over night, that’s crucial. I mean, that’s close to the death.”

Most recently, Mayweather and Pacquiao’s parties settled a defamation lawsuit filed by the Sarangani congressman attacking Mayweather’s statements implying Pacquiao used performance enhancing drugs.


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