Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao competed in one of the biggest boxing fights of all time in 2015.
Competing in Las Vegas, Mayweather defeated Pacquiao via unanimous decision to extend his unbeaten record to 48-0.
The pair both earned a huge payday from the bout, as Mayweather and Pacquiao both had jaw-dropping fight purses.
In the immediate aftermath of the fight, footage was recorded of Mayweather describing what it was like facing Pacquiao.
Floyd Mayweather describes how Manny Pacquiao sets traps for his opponents
When Mayweather went into his fight with Pacquiao, both his unbeaten 47-0 record and WBC and WBA world welterweight titles were on the line.
As for ‘Pac-Man’, he went into the fight with a 57-5-2 record, as well as his WBO World Welterweight title. However, it would be Mayweather who emerged the unified champion.
Speaking after the fight in footage posted by FightHype.com, Mayweather discussed the challenge of facing Pacquiao hours after their bout ended. “I’m always setting up traps, and Pacquiao normally sets traps for his guys, also.”
Mayweather goes on to say that Pacquiao ‘goes crazy’ with pressure, before landing a big shot on his opponent. However, in their fight, Mayweather said, “Whereas with me, I just, you know, I keep him at bay.”
“I touch him, I touch him, I keep him at bay. Slide, touch him with the right hand, touch him downstairs, he gets close, I lock him up. Tie him up. We wrestle a little bit, get him back on the outside. Touch him, touch him. I check hook him around. I touch him. I watch him. I move.”
Mayweather finished by saying, “Don’t play checkers, play chess.”
When asked how comfortable he felt in the ring with Pacquiao, Mayweather revealed his father had concerns for him. “My dad was so worried about us not getting a good decision, because of the crowd.” However, Mayweather won the verdict on the judges’ scorecards.
In terms of how he felt the fight was going from the early stages, Mayweather said, “From round one I knew I had the fight.”
Mayweather also credited his strength in the clinch to showing Pacquiao he was a different challenge to other fighters ‘Pac-Man’ has faced.
Manny Pacquiao considered postponing Mayweather due to shoulder injury
In a 2025 interview with Andre Ward for All The Smoke Fight, Pacquiao revealed that he considered withdrawing from his Mayweather bout in 2015.
Former Oscar De La Hoya opponent Pacquiao said, “I’m just wondering, two weeks before the fight, if I’m going to postpone it or not.”
The reason for Pacquiao’s considerations was due to a shoulder injury sustained in camp. “[I was] so bothered with my shoulder.”
However, Pacquiao said he ultimately went through with the fight to avoid disappointing the fans. After losing the bout, Pacquiao immediately went to the hospital to receive surgery on his shoulder.