Trainers for Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao take center stage!!!

In advance of Saturday night’s megamillion-dollar fight to end all fights, the trainers for Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao told the assembled media Thursday at the MGM that their guys will win. Which is to say some parts of the old fold game are as eternal as canvas, ropes, laced gloves, and glass jaws. But it was Floyd Mayweather Sr., also known as Big Floyd, who spiced up pre-fight Declaration Day with its liveliest and most awkward moments. 

To begin, the senior Mayweather, clearly not interested with infusing more hype into the much ballyhooed event, casually noted, “To tell you the truth, I don’t think it’s going to be much of a fight.’’ With gross revenue expected to be a minimum of $400 million, the richest in the sport’s history, the old man’s words were a bit of a buzzkill. Pity the poor customer who earlier this week forked over in excess of $40,000 for a seat a few rows back from ringside. Big Floyd also predicted that his son, with an unblemished 47-0-0 record, will win by putting Pacquiao to sleep inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena. 

He believes Little Floyd, 38, will carry the day by knockout, which is how Pacquiao (38-5-2) lost three years ago when he was flattened by Juan Manuel Marquez with time expiring in the sixth round. Marquez, wounded and on the verge of being finished off near the ropes, crushed Pacquiao with a stinging right to the jaw, the Filipino star cueing up his own demise by stepping on his opponent’s foot. Marquez responded with a viper-like strike that Pacquiao only saw later on replay. The shot to the head that sent Pacquiao lights out, figures Mayweather Sr., has since left him vulnerable to a repeat demise. 

“I am going to tell you here, man,’’ said Mayweather, “it’s true all day long . . . anyone ever in boxing long enough would know what I am talking about. Once you get hit like [Marquez hit Pacquiao], your ass goes to sleep . . . .I won’t call what round, but I am telling you, when he gets hit, it’s going to happen. “The fight is already won, trust and believe me,’’ added Mayweather. “The fight is already won. They are all talking the talk . . . keep talking about how scared Floyd is and how scared Floyd was. We will whoop Manny anyday, any time, any year, any moment.’’ Meanwhile, Freddie Roach, who has trained Pacquiao for the last 15 years, one-third of that tenure focused on this welterweight bout, sarcastically noted that Mayweather’s defensive style in fact can be sleep inducing. Roach, though, was not speaking in metaphors. 

“I know my guy is going to deliver,’’ said Roach, the former Bostonian who is now an icon among trainers, with his own gym in Los Angeles. “I can’t promise you about Floyd, but he did put a lot of muscle on and usually when you put a lot of muscle on it’s to fight. So I hope that is what he chooses to do. I think he is going to come out in the early rounds and try to knock us out and we are well prepared for that. “But I am not sure. He could run all night. I have fallen asleep at a couple of his fights before.’’ Truth is, if Mayweather follows standard operating procedure, he will spend the early rounds doing little but fending off Pacquiao’s punches, often using his trademark defensive shoulder tuck. He is not one for early statements, often winning by methodical and tenacious late-round destruction of opponents who’ve grown tired of his LifeLock defensive skill set. 

Keeping to that conservative game plan might be difficult for Mayweather because Pacquiao, with lightning-fast hands and more combinations than a Chinese takeout joint, is expected to riddle him with more shots than he’s ever faced in the early going. If Pacquiao banks the opening three or four rounds on points, and still looks capable of going the full 12 rounds, then Mayweather may be forced into being the aggressor. Perhaps that’s what Big Floyd is thinking with that knockout prediction. His little man just might have to chase the PacMan, be forced to seek the big shot. If so, then Big Floyd’s prediction that it won’t be “much of a fight’’ could be sent skittering out to The Strip faster than a Jehovah’s Witness working a casino floor for converts. The punching would turn ungodly. “I really think we can win a 12-round decision here,’’ said Roach. 

“That’s why my game plan is to outscore him and I think Manny’s fast combinations can do that. But if he stays in the pocket too long, [Mayweather] will hit back. This is something we can’t do and we worked on it our entire training camp. So he is well prepared for whatever Floyd brings. “If Floyd comes to fight, we’ll be ready for that. If he wants to run, we will cut the ring off.’’ Both fighters spent the day with light workouts and will meet again Friday for the traditional weigh-in, an event that will bring a paid audience of 10,000 inside the Grand Garden Arena. By Nevada law, weigh-ins must be open to the public free of charge, but fight organizers charged $10 a head, the money earmarked for charity and the overall strategy aimed at crowd control. 

The fight is expected to bring upward of 100,000 extra customers here this weekend, although the overwhelming majority of them won’t have a ticket They’ll be here to experience the hoopla and perhaps watch the bout on closed-circuit TV. Some of the crowd surge will be caused by horse racing fans who make the desert an annual pilgrimage to watch the Kentucky Derby. Vegas is first and foremost about betting action and the action will be furious this weekend. The senior Mayweather, when asked what Pacquiao performance most impressed him in recent years, took a moment to ponder his response. “His best performance?’’ said Big Floyd, sounding not unlike how NFL coach Jim Mora once responded to a question about the playoffs for his bedraggled Colts. “His best performance . . . was when he was crushed by Marquez.’’