Manny facing 'fight of my life'

Manny Pacquiao is calling his May 2 showdown with Floyd Mayweather Jr. "the fight of my life" as he gets down to serious training at Freddie Roach's Wild Card Gym in Hollywood.

The eight-division world champion has cranked into serious preparations after flying to his training camp from his native Philippines.

On Monday, Pacquiao ran 3.2 km and shadow boxed for two rounds, followed by abdominal work and a breakfast of steamed rice, scrambled eggs, fish and chicken broth.

Then he napped until noon and had lunch before heading to Roach's Wild Card Gym, which is strictly off-limits to fans and media during Pacquiao's sessions.

"I will prepare hard for this fight to give the boxing fans the kind of entertainment they want. This is what I consider the real fight of my life," said Pacquiao, 36.

Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) will face Mayweather (47-0, 27 KOs) at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Reports suggest boxing's two best pound-for-pound fighters of their generation will split about $200 million for their welterweight title clash.

Pacquiao has plunged into training after arriving from the Philippines, where his distractions include playing professional basketball and sitting in the national congress.

He apologized for ducking a crowd of journalists at LA airport after immigration officials whisked him out a back door on Saturday.

"The head of the immigration in LA led us to the back door, so I was not aware that many journalists were already waiting for us outside," Pacquiao said.

"My heartfelt apology to all of them."

Agence France Presse

(China Daily 03/06/2015 page19)