Esteemed trainer and former world champion Robert Garcia has revealed who he thinks is the “fresher man” between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
Both pound-for-pound icons will rematch professionally on September 19, headlining the Netflix event at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Their first meeting, which took place over a decade ago, saw Mayweather claim a comprehensive points victory before he improved his record to 50-0 in 2017 with a 10th-round knockout of Conor McGregor.
However, Pacquiao did not fight until July 2025, forcing a controversial draw with then WBC welterweight world champion Mario Barrios.
This ended an almost four-year break, which followed his points defeat to Yordenis Ugaswhile Mayweather has not fought professionally since defeating McGregor.
Instead, the 49-year-old took part in several exhibition matches and this trend is expected to resume with Mike Tyson and Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis.
Time will tell whether these two non-competitive affairs actually come to fruition, but Mayweather has nonetheless agreed to face Pacquiao in September.
Conversation with BoxingSceneTop trainer Garcia opined that Pacquiao, although slightly younger, may be heading into the rematch with more miles under his belt.
“Manny is taking training camp very well [seriously]. We see him running in the mountains and running around many fans and boxers.
“I don’t want to be the last one [to finish]so he runs strenuous. At 47 [years old]it’s not effortless. However, he wants to prove to everyone that he is still a great athlete.
“As far as sparring goes, I guarantee you he’s sparring strenuous. Whoever they bring in to spar, they want to look good against Manny.
“Mayweather, on the other hand, is doing it without even showing it to the world. I guarantee you he’s staying in shape… and I think he’s going to be a fresher man.”
It was initially reported that Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 would be a professional fight, but Mayweather later stated that it would be an exhibition fight.
However, Pacquiao has since insisted it would be a fully sanctioned contest, giving him the opportunity to exact revenge.