Justin Fortune, Manny Pacquiao’s famed strength and conditioning coach, has been talking to Fox Sports out in Australia, both on tonight’s big (in Australia it’s very big) Pac Man vs. Jeff Horn clash and on the one boxing subject that seems never to go away: Pacquiao -Floyd Mayweather.
As fans probably know, both Pac Man and his trainer Freddie Roach refuse to accept that a rematch is so out of the realms of possibility that it has seemingly zero chance of taking place (Mayweather himself has said many times, the book is “closed” on the matter ). And Fortune himself believes that if there is a second “Fight Of The Century” there is only one winner: Pacquiao.
Fortune says Mayweather took full advantage of Manny’s highly documented shoulder injury back in May of 2015.
According to Fortune, Floyd “knew” Pac Man hurt his shoulder during the fight (officially in the 4th round, according to both Pacquiao and Roach) and that he then targeted it. Fortune insists that without the injury – one he says got worse as the fight progressed – Manny would have won.
Fortune says, “don’t ask me how he knew, but Mayweather knew” Pacquiao’s shoulder was “F****d up,” “He just didn’t know which one, that’s why he targeted both shoulders.”
So, did Mayweather “know,” and if he did, so what? Wouldn’t any fighter pounce on his opponent’s weakness the moment he saw it? The great Rocky Marciano made a career of pounding on a guy’s shoulders and arms, to get the hands to drop, giving his vicious headshots the open target they needed.
In any case, do fans really feel a rematch between Floyd and Manny would be any different from the first fight? Clearly Team-Pacquiao do – but who else?
Of course a second fight between the two finest fighters of their era would sell, but it takes two to tango; and Floyd Mayweather is only interested in dancing again with one man – and he isn’t even a boxer.
As for Pacquiao, let’s see how he gets on in a few hours time with determined under dog Horn.