It was never about the money.
That’s what Sen. Manny Pacquiao pointed out as he fired back on old rival Floyd Mayweather Jr., saying that he decided to fight the undefeated Errol Spence Jr. simply because he wants to slug it out with the best.
“Like I said, hindi ako katulad ng iba diyan na pera-pera lang.
“Kahit hindi boksingero ang kalaban, hinahamon para lang may pera,” he told Radyo5’s Power and Play, Saturday.
“Ako kasi, gusto ko ‘yung fight — fight talaga to challenge the best. Laging ganun. Sanay tayo riyan. Hanggang nandito pa tayo sa sports,” furthered boxing’s only eight-division world champion.
Pacquiao responded to the statements made by Mayweather following his eight-round exhibition match against American YouTuber Logan Paul at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida — a fight that had no winner.
There, the 44-year-old said: “When I come and do an exhibition or come out and box and have some fun, I do it because I want to do it, not because I have to do it. Whereas, Pacquiao at his age, it’s sad that he has to fight.”
Mayweather reportedly earned US$50-million for fighting Paul, proving once again why he’s nicknamed “Money.” For the fighting senator, he would have taken the easy route if he was after the money.
“Alam mo, kung pera-pera edi kumuha ako ng pipitsugin na hindi boksingero. Kung pera-pera ang habol ko, bakit kukuha ako ng legend, kukuha ako ng undefeated? ‘Di ba? Mahirapan pa ako,” he said.
“This is the real fight. Hindi ‘yung fight na hindi boksingero ‘yung kalaban mo. ‘Yan ang pera-pera, ‘yung hindi boksingero ‘yung kalaban mo,” the 42-year-old southpaw continued.
“Lumalaban ako, kasi passion ko ito.”
It has been six years already since Pacquiao and Mayweather fought in what was billed as the ‘Fight of the Century,’ although that bout that saw the latter win via unanimous decision didn’t live up to the hype.
However, it went down as the richest fight in history, having earned a grand total of $410 million in revenue. The clash that took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas also collected a record $72 million in gate receipts.
The city will once again bear witness to a looming classic between Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) and Spence Jr. (27-0, 21 KOs) who will put both his World Boxing Council (WBC) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) titles on the line.
Pacquiao bared that his camp also looked at taking on World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight king Terence Crawford and four-division champ Mikey Garcia before ultimately going with Spence Jr.
“Actually ang pinagpilian ko si (Terrence) Crawford, Errol Spence, at saka si Mikey Garcia. Tatlo yan, and then it came up to Spence,” he said.
“At maganda din yung laban kung possible yan, ‘yung Crawford. Undefeated din yun.”
