Manny Pacquiao: This would be 'biggest victory of my career'

The long road to make the megafight of the 21st century, the heavily anticipated showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, took more than five years.

They had negotiated on and off through the years, while continuing to fight many of the same opponents, until they finally got a deal done in late February for them to meet on May 2 on pay-per-view at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for what will be the richest fight in boxing history and one of the most hyped.

While both fighters hold welterweight world titles and are widely considered the best two fighters in the world pound-for-pound -- Mayweather No. 1 and Pacquiao No. 2 -- there are still some who say the fight is happening five years too late, because neither man is still in his prime.

While Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) has remained unbeaten it is obvious that he has slowed down at least a step, based on how much he was hit by Marcos Maidana in their two fights last year.

Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs), meanwhile, also had many questioning him after he suffered a massive one-punch knockout to rival Juan Manuel Marquez in December 2012, although he has rebounded with three one-sided decision wins in a row against Brandon Rios, Timothy Bradley Jr. and Chris Algieri.

Pacquiao is not one of those who think the fight is happening too late even though he is 36 and Mayweather is 38, old by boxing standards.

"More people are interested and informed about this fight now than they would've been five years ago," Pacquiao said on Wednesday at his media day, where more than 300 media members from around the world showed up at trainer Freddie Roach's Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California, to talk to Pacquiao and watch him go through a short workout.

"Style wise, I am the same fighter I was five years ago," Pacquiao said. "My determination, inspiration and killer instinct is the exact same as it was five or six years ago."

Said Roach, "This fight was five years in the making. Promoters should realize that these types of fights are what's best for boxing and we should have more fights like this. I'm not surprised by the hype surrounding the fight."

Pacquiao, the fighting Filipino congressman, is the underdog in the fight but many view him as Mayweather's toughest challenge. He said he is ready to take Mayweather's undefeated record from him.

"I feel very excited for the fight," Pacquiao said. "I have a lot of sparring partners that are similar to Floyd's fighting style. We have done well. We know what to expect. I have watched tape on Floyd to make sure that our strategy and technique in training camp is correct."

Said Roach, "I can tell how much this fight means to Manny because he has watched tape on Floyd. Manny has never watched tape on any fighter before."

Top Rank's Bob Arum, Pacquiao's longtime promoter and Mayweather's former promoter, said he believes Pacquiao is more motivated for the fight with Mayweather than he's been for any other Arum has seen him prepare for.

"I'm looking forward to May 2. I love Manny's chances of winning, that's the main thing," Arum said. "He looks great, he's motivated, no nonsense, and I think he's going to put on a performance for the ages. It's going to be hard for him to top his performance against Oscar De La Hoya, but I think he will in this fight."

Roach agreed with Arum as it related to Pacquiao's motivation.

"Manny has really raised the bar in this training camp. He's a different Manny Pacquiao than I have seen him going into previous training camps," Roach said. "He is punching so much harder in training for this camp.

"Manny is better than ever. His attitude is different and I've never seen him work this hard. His speed is faster, his punches are harder. I'm really happy where he's at. His legs look great; he's on his toes all the time."

Asked if this was his legacy fight, Pacquiao said it wasn't. After all, he has already become the first fighter in boxing history to win world titles in eight weight divisions and become a global icon. But Pacquiao did say that a victory would be enormous.

"My entire career defines my legacy," Pacquiao said. "I have already accomplished great achievements in my career while excelling in different weight divisions. This fight is an additional achievement in my career. It's the biggest fight in boxing history.

"I can say that beating Floyd would be the biggest victory of my career."