WBC/WBA welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (left) and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao pose during a news conference at the KA Theatre at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on Wednesday in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two will face each other in a unification bout tomorrow. (AFP)

By Kevin Mitchell/Las Vegas /The Guardian

In the days before the explosion that nobody can avoid, nerves here are a little frayed but, surprisingly, they are more obvious in the man favoured to prevail on tomorrow night, Floyd Mayweather. There are signs – infinitesimal ones open to misinterpretation, admittedly – that the unbeaten WBC and WBA welterweight champion is a little worried about the WBO belt-holder Manny Pacquiao, who carries with him the supposed burden of past defeats.
When Mayweather told an incredulous TV reporter that he had not watched much tape of the very dangerous opponent who might wreck his entire career in one evening and did not even know much about him he was, by most reasonable analysis, talking through his shorts.
After the one-off press conference on Wednesday, Mayweather sidestepped repeated questions about what he had gauged from the ritual face-off with Pacquiao. “I can’t really judge by how he looks” is all he would say. “We’ll just have to see Saturday.”
Well, we could see on Wednesday too. And what we saw was one fighter trying to give nothing away and the other fighter so comfortable in his skin he even got Mayweather to laugh. In trying to affect nonchalance and a detached sense of superiority, Mayweather actually revealed nerves.
It is inconceivable that he has not inspected every twitch and tic of the electrically quick Filipino, a southpaw switch-hitter who uses angles and power to awesome effect when at his best. To ignore the danger would be foolhardy – and Mayweather is no fool.
All fighters, as Sugar Ray Leonard said earlier in the week, suffer a version of fear and spend much energy trying to disguise it. Mayweather’s method is to shoulder-roll the question. “Self-doubts?” Leonard said. “I had none because I knew I had a plan two, plan three. I knew that I could do something else. When I lost to [Roberto] Duran, I knew I had another couple of options. Do we think about it? Yeah. You can’t just get rid of it. It’s going to be there, but you can’t let it become your achilles heel. It can be chronic. But I don’t think that’s the case here, because of the significance of the fight, what it means to both champions. That’s what they’re fighting for.”
Few of the many gnarled observers here can remember Mayweather being more subdued before a fight, although even in his quietness he inadvertently is revealing. When Mayweather – or a member of his Money Team – issued the understated Twitter update on his opinion of tomorrow’s fight with Manny Pacquiao, he did it with a single word: experience.
He was referring to his attachment to the big time. Floyd doesn’t do small time. This will be his 11th consecutive fight in the same ring, surrounded by the same acolytes, watched by many of the same high-rolling fans who can afford the ticket, and paid by most of the same suits. It is as if he is boxing in one of the many spacious rooms at his home adjoining the 13th fairway of the Southern Highlands golf club, 12 miles south of Las Vegas.
Nobody arranges advantage quite like Mayweather. He fights when, where and who he wants, as if he were the king of boxing. And, essentially, that is the case. The last mandatory challenger he faced was Robert Guerrero on 4 May 2013, the first of the six fights he had signed for when he moved from HBO to Showtime in the longest farewell in the history of boxing. However, if Mayweather imagines he is fighting a gobsmacked ingenu in the MGM Grand Garden Arena tomorrow night, he will be in for a considerable shock.
Both combatants are aged and battle-wise, with 20 world titles between them, and there is no escaping the judgment that both are more vulnerable now than they have ever been.
Of the many numbers being crunched on the Strip this week, $12.96 for a bottle of “extra-strength pain reliever” tells its own story. This is a town that likes to have fun. And there is always a price to pay. As to who will be in grey-cells deficit after the weekend’s boxing party there remains uncertainty, even among those paid to bluster with confidence.
Mayweather has held a steady lead in the opinion polls but a late surge by Pacquiao would surprise no one, especially as the little Filipino is carrying himself with the glow of a very dangerous invader.
Much has been written, here and elsewhere, about Mayweather’s fistic genius, his mastery of defence, his searing, long right counter, his all-round awareness and hunger for victory. But Pacquiao did not win titles in eight weight divisions by accident. As his trainer, Freddie Roach – considerably calmed in his Parkinson’s disease since recently switching medication and not quite as agitated as in the past – pointed out when they chose to “arrive” at a nearby casino on Tuesday: “We are here to knock him out.”
Outside the respective camps everyone has an opinion on the Fight of the Century, some more informed than others.
“This is a fight that the world has been wanting to see for so long and it’s great that it is now upon us,” said Amir Khan. He has the rare luxury of a paid-for ringside seat, courtesy of the enigmatic manager Al Haymon, who numbers Khan and Mayweather among his 100-plus fighting clients. If Mayweather wins Khan hopes to fight him in September – as long as he beats Chris Algieri in New York on 29 May.
He added: “Floyd and Manny are two legendary fighters and it is only right that we get to see them share the ring together. I have no doubt that this is going to be a tremendous match-up and will be extremely exciting for as long as it lasts.
“Manny has hand speed and fast feet that will cause Floyd some problems early on, but as it progresses I expect Floyd to make the adjustments he tends to make to counter that before pulling away on the scorecards. Both fighters still have so much to give and I’m sure they’re going to produce something very special for the fans.”
Algieri, a university graduate not quite clever enough to avoid hitting the deck six times against Pacquiao last November, sees a little of himself in Mayweather. “Floyd is the smartest fighter in the game,” he said.
“He will be able to pick up on certain flaws and exploit them. Manny is going to make him work in there and I believe that the first few rounds are going to be very interesting. “Manny is a different and smarter fighter than he was before the knockout [by Juan Manuel Márquez in 2012]. If Manny comes in shape the way that he did against me, and if Floyd has missed a step at all, then I see Pacquiao giving him all kinds of trouble. Ultimately, though, I see Mayweather winning a decision.”
Paulie Malignaggi has fought neither of stars, but he did lose to their contemporaries, Khan and Ricky Hatton, and has carved out a convincing career as a commentator. He is also close to the Mayweather camp, which might explain his take on proceedings. “I am taking Mayweather by wide decision or a late-round stoppage,” the former world champion said. “He has too much variation to his arsenal. Pacquiao is fun to watch, but his one-dimensional approach won’t be enough on Saturday night.”
So many words, so much doubt. It is the near-perfect preparation for an almighty climax.