Floyd Mayweather says it will be two "hall-of-famers" in their prime when he and Manny Pacquiao clash in the richest fight in boxing history on May 2 at the MGM Hotel.
In the only Las Vegas news conference he is giving ahead of fight week, Mayweather said Tuesday that he is not worried about spoiling his perfect 47-0 record.
“He’s a future hall-of-famer. I am a future hall-of-famer and we are meeting at the pinnacle of our careers,” Mayweather said.
“From the matchup, it is going to be a very exciting fight.
“Our styles are totally different. I fight with smarts. Every move is calculated. Every move is thought about.”
Mayweather’s longevity in the sport has been attributed to his superb defensive skills.
The May 2 fight is expected to be decided by Mayweather’s brilliant counterpunching skills or Pacquiao’s blazing speed and power.
But Mayweather says he sees some flaws in the boxing style of Pacquiao.
Mayweather described the 36-year-old Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) as a “reckless fighter” who takes too many chances, referring to Juan Manuel Marquez’s knockout of Pacman in December 2012.
“He fought very, very recklessly in the Marquez fight,” Mayweather said.
“I could have had the same type of career but my career wouldn’t have lasted this long.”
Mayweather is in the fifth fight of a six-fight contract with Showtime, and he says this year will be his last on the job.
“My last fight is in September,” he said.
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He discussed how the thrill of boxing is gone and that at this point in his career, it just feels like a job.
“No. I don’t enjoy it like I once did,” said Mayweather, who was fashionably late for his workout session.
“It is at a point where it is business. It is my job. I go to the gym. I train. I know what I have to do,” he added, speaking from a tent outside his Las Vegas gym located in the middle of the desert city’s Chinatown district.
“There was a time when it was fun but I am to a point now where I am really over all of that stuff.”
The welterweight unification fight, which has been the subject of on-off negotiations for six years, will not only be the richest fight but it will go a long way towards determining who was the greatest fighter of the era.
The fight is expected to shatter records for total revenue with Mayweather earning about US$120 million (Dh440.8m), while Pacquiao could receive about $80 million.
Mayweather did allow reporters to watch him work out Tuesday. He said he is trying to rekindle his passion for the sport by using some different training methods, like chopping wood and swimming laps.
“I can have a good day in the gym and the sparring partners can have a good day on me. That don’t count. It counts under the lights when it is for all the marbles,” he said.
There was no sign Tuesday of the controversy that arose prior to his 2014 Marcos Maidana fight.
In September, Mayweather was ordered to appear before the Nevada State Athletic Commission after being accused of forcing fighters at his gym to allegedly endure 31-minute training rounds without a break.
Mayweather testified to the commission that the marathon sparring sessions were staged in order to boost pay-per-view sales for his personal cable TV show to promote his next fight.
In the episode Mayweather referred to his gym as the “dog house” adding “guys fight to the death. It is not right but it is dog house rules.”
Mayweather is now being sued by two of the fighters in question, 18-year-old Shariff Rahaman and his brother, Hasim, 23, who allege battery, tortious assault, false imprisonment and negligent hiring and training.
Still the “dog house” featured a carnival-like atmosphere that will continue to follow this mega title fight until May 2.
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo
Power: 435hp at 5,900rpm
Torque: 520Nm at 1,800-5,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Price: from Dh498,542
On sale: now
Persuasion
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The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
Iran's dirty tricks to dodge sanctions
There’s increased scrutiny on the tricks being used to keep commodities flowing to and from blacklisted countries. Here’s a description of how some work.
1 Going Dark
A common method to transport Iranian oil with stealth is to turn off the Automatic Identification System, an electronic device that pinpoints a ship’s location. Known as going dark, a vessel flicks the switch before berthing and typically reappears days later, masking the location of its load or discharge port.
2. Ship-to-Ship Transfers
A first vessel will take its clandestine cargo away from the country in question before transferring it to a waiting ship, all of this happening out of sight. The vessels will then sail in different directions. For about a third of Iranian exports, more than one tanker typically handles a load before it’s delivered to its final destination, analysts say.
3. Fake Destinations
Signaling the wrong destination to load or unload is another technique. Ships that intend to take cargo from Iran may indicate their loading ports in sanction-free places like Iraq. Ships can keep changing their destinations and end up not berthing at any of them.
4. Rebranded Barrels
Iranian barrels can also be rebranded as oil from a nation free from sanctions such as Iraq. The countries share fields along their border and the crude has similar characteristics. Oil from these deposits can be trucked out to another port and documents forged to hide Iran as the origin.
* Bloomberg
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Super Rugby play-offs
Quarter-finals
- Hurricanes 35, ACT 16
- Crusaders 17, Highlanders 0
- Lions 23, Sharks 21
- Chiefs 17, Stormers 11
Semi-finals
Saturday, July 29
- Crusaders v Chiefs, 12.35pm (UAE)
- Lions v Hurricanes, 4.30pm
THREE
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Another way to earn air miles
In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.
An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.
“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.
RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
