Manny Pacquiao warns Floyd Mayweather: Killer instinct back
Friday 24 April 2015 09:52, UK
Manny Pacquiao has warned Floyd Mayweather his "killer instinct" is back ahead of their May 2 superfight.
Back-to-back defeats in 2012 prompted accusations Pacquiao had taken his eye off the ball as he pursued a political career at home in the Philippines.
But he has since avenged one of those defeats, a controversial points loss to Timothy Bradley, putting together a three-fight winning run to earn his long-awaited shot at Mayweather.
And at his final open press day before heading for Las Vegas, venue for the pair's welterweight unification bout on Sky Sports Box Office, Pacquiao sounded an ominous note.
"I feel very motivated," he said. "The inspiration and determination is back and the killer instinct is there. I love it. I like it. I am very excited. My training and my conditioning is good. I can feel it. I am ready."
Mayweather this week called Pacquiao a "reckless" fighter, a jibe the WBO champion laughed off, saying: "That's how people like me and love me, because they like an exciting fight. We call this boxing."
The WBO world champion acknowledged the fight is "one of the biggest" in the history of the sport but said his legacy is already assured whatever happens on May 2.
"My entire career defines my legacy. Everything I have done in boxing," he said. "I have had some great, great accomplishments and achievements in my career. I won titles in eight different weight divisions."
Pacquiao, who along with Mayweather signed up for Olympic-style drug testing in the run-up to the fight, claimed he has been tested six times already.
The issue of drug-testing was among the stumbing blocks to a fight earlier in the two superstar's careers, and Pacquiao says the difficulty in agreeing terms makes a rematch unlikely.
"The negotiations for the first one were so hard," he said. "How can we talk about a second one? The first one was so hard to make happen."
Book Mayweather v Pacquiao, Sky Sports Box Office, May 2, via your phone or online now. If you want to record the event, book via your Sky remote from April 25. skysports.com/maypac
