Floyd Mayweather Jr. believes Manny Pacquiao did not get the money he deserved for the pair's megafight last May, according to strength and conditioning coach Alex Ariza.
Ariza has worked with both Mayweather and Pacquiao during his career and was part of Money's team in his preparation for what turned out to be the penultimate fight of his unbeaten career against the Filipino.
Speaking to Viva Sports (via Ronnie Nathanielsz of BoxingScene.com), Ariza said that the American was surprised at reports of Pacquiao's payout for the Las Vegas bout
"[Floyd] was shocked at what he (Pacquiao) got." Ariza said. "That’s another reason that Floyd says Manny is in the upper echelons and should become independent so he gets what he deserves."
Per ESPN's Dan Rafael and Darren Rovell, Mayweather earned at least $220 million for the clash, which he won by unanimous decision—see below highlights:
The report indicates that because of the pre-agreed 60-40 split between the two fighters and because Pac-Man had to pay off his promoters, Bob Arum and Top Rank, the 37-year-old made around $150 million from boxing's richest-ever fight.
Following that bout, Mayweather went on to beat Andre Berto in a lopsided final fight and retired with a perfect 49-0 record.
Pacquiao has not fought since he met Mayweather as he has been recovering from a shoulder injury, which he partially blamed for his defeat to the American.
As Arum confirmed at the end of 2015, he is set to return to the ring in April in Las Vegas to face Timothy Bradley for a third time, per the Manila Times (via Richard Damerell of Sky Sports).
And the eight-division champion has now confirmed it will be his last fight before retirement, per Sky Sports News (via Eurosport's Marcus Foley).
The 37-year-old's choice of Bradley as his next and final opponent has not been met with great enthusiasm by the boxing public, per BoxNation:
However, given that the much-hyped meeting between Mayweather and Pacquiao ended up being a a stale, boring affair, the Filipino legend's clash with Bradley could yet prove unexpectedly eventful by comparison.
Article courtesy of Bleacher Reporter