LAS VEGAS -- Manny Pacquiao was jovial, smiling and as loose as he could be when he met the media for about a half hour following his hastily arranged fan rally at his host hotel, Mandalay Bay, on Tuesday, four days before he squares off with Floyd Mayweather to unify welterweight titles in the fight of the century on Saturday night (Showtime/HBO PPV, 9 ET) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum pulled Pacquiao out of the official grand arrival ceremony on Tuesday afternoon at the MGM Grand -- Mayweather did it on his own -- and instead had him appear at a hastily planned fan rally, which drew a couple of thousand fans on Tuesday morning.
Following a show with Filipino-themed music and dancing, Pacquiao spoke briefly to the crowd, drawing cheers when he told them, "I know I'm going to win the fight in the ring. So relax."
Then he met the media and showed up with a camera in hand, pretending to take photos of the reporters with a big smile on his face.
One reporter asked Pacquiao what he thought of the fact that Mayweather’s team is selling a T-shirt -- one of many choices available at the official merchandise store -- that featured Mayweather’s image over that of a flag of the Philippines, where Pacquiao is a national hero and a congressman.
Some might have taken the image on the shirt as disrespectful toward Pacquiao and his home country, but Pacquiao got a laugh out of it.
“That’s good. I like that,” Pacquiao said before getting off a great one-liner poking fun at “The Money Team,” the nickname Mayweather gave to his crew.
“He wants to join our team. TMT -- The Manny Team,” Pacquiao said as he began to crack up, drawing laughs from the media.
If Pacquiao is fighting any nerves heading into the richest fight in boxing history, he sure didn’t show it.
