Does Manny Pacquiao really believe that Errol Spence Jr. is better than Floyd Mayweather was?
That’s what the 42-year-old Filipino legend said at the news conference in Los Angeles to kick off the promotion for his pay-per-view fight against Spence on Aug. 21 in Las Vegas.
Spence, sitting beside his Pacquiao, was asked whether Mayweather had reached out to him with any advice about his former opponent. Spence was in the process of answering when Pacquiao jumped in.
“Sorry to interrupt,” he said. “Actually, Errol doesn’t need to have advice from Mayweather because I believe Errol is better than Mayweather.”
Sounds clear cut, right? Well, maybe not.
Pacquiao continued, “I think he will teach Mayweather how to fight toe to toe.”
That seems like more of a shot at Mayweather’s style than his ability as a fighter. Mayweather did against Pacquiao in 2015 what he did to all his opponents, which was to box brilliantly and win handily.
Pacquiao undoubtedly would’ve loved for Mayweather to stand still and exchange punches, which would’ve given him a better chance to win. But that wasn’t Mayweather, who had his share of knockouts but was always a boxer first.
So we can assume that Pacquiao was having a little fun at Mayweather’s expense, not expressing his true assessment of his rival’s ability.
Of course, it should be pointed out that Pacquiao has genuine respect for Spence, who is unbeaten and has victories over Kell Brook, Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter and, most recently, Danny Garcia. And Pacquiao will be facing a fellow southpaw for the first time since he took on David Diaz in 2008.
He acknowledges that he will have his hands full with the welterweight titleholder.
“Errol Spence is an aggressive fighter, he’s undefeated, he’s young (31), he’s dedicated to his career,” Pacquiao said. “This is not an easy opponent. He’s the kind of fighter you cannot underestimate.”
