Max Kellerman will not be making a pick for the May 2nd mega fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. Kellerman publically stated this in an interview with Hits First Boxing weeks ago, and it was covered by Thaboxingvoice.com’s Victor Salazar.
Kellerman, who has been tasked with backstage duties for HBO on the night of the PPV telecast, feels like it isn’t professional to make a prediction because of the perceived level of favoritism, which is understandable. It is also a good way of not being forced into making a bad pick, but it also saves him from not picking against Pacquiao – the HBO fighter – because in a scenario where network ties weren’t an issue Kellerman would probably pick Floyd.
HoopJab caught up with Kellerman’s colleague and former “Pound for Pound” kingpin Roy Jones Jr. Jones Jr., who will be on the broadcast team, come May 2nd. He was interviewed by HoopJab’s Neal Johnson in a video published on their YouTube channel and in it, he spoke about the humble feeling it is to be working an event of this magnitude.
“I love the fact that they chose me to be a part of [Mayweather-Pacquiao]. You being part of a major event, Floyd is doing his thing, and you get the opportunity to be part of it by just even working it, and that’s good enough for me. Just God blessing me to be part of it is good enough,” Jones Jr. told HoopJab.
While Jones Jr. never made an official pick, either, he was more than willing to map out exactly how he feels about both fighters’ chances on fight night. He might not have chosen a winner, but it is clear that he believes this is Floyd’s fight to lose.
“I think Floyd just got to be Floyd and box and be the winner that he’s been over the last 20 years or however long it’s been. If he just does that, that should be enough for him. I think he’s got to be smart and take his chances at the right time, pick his openings like he usually do, and he should be able to calculatedly deal with Manny Pacquiao and anything Manny brings.”
This is the kind of logic most insiders have used over the course of the fight’s coverage. Jones Jr. doesn’t completely discount Pacquiao’s chances on fight night, although he sees it as an uphill battle.
“For Manny to win, he has to use his irrational way of boxing, the way he throws all the wild punches, so many punches at a time and the barrages that he throws. He has to use that to try to figure out a way to get to Floyd, get through Floyd’s defense because Floyd has an impeccable defense, but Manny has to figure a way to get through that defense. Also though, once he gets through it, can he have an effect on Floyd? Can he hurt Floyd because if he gets through [the defense] and can’t hurt Floyd then he’s still in trouble.”
