Floyd Mayweather Reacts When Asked If He'd Do Bible Study With Pacquiao
Floyd Mayweather, who defeated Manny Pacquiao Saturday night in their welterweight title bout, reacted when asked during his post-fight press conference if he had been invited by the Filipino professional boxer to Bible study and whether he'd be willing to take it up.
"A lot of people tried to turn this fight into good vs. evil, and I didn't really wanna entertain that," Mayweather said at the press conference when asked the question, according to Fox Sports.
Pacquiao, a vocal Christian, had earlier said he wanted to teach Mayweather a lesson. "To be a good person, to be an example for everybody. To let him know that there is God and we should humble ourselves before God," he told Balitanghali. "After the fight if I have a chance, I can share the gospel. I can share the Word of God," he said
Mayweather, an American professional boxer who remains undefeated as a professional and is a five-division world champion, said Pacquiao wasn't perfect either, as "nobody's perfect."
However, he praised Pacquiao after the fight. "I take my hat off to Manny Pacquiao. I see now why he is at the pinnacle of boxing," Mayweather said. "I knew he was going to push me, win some rounds. I wasn't being hit with a lot of shots until I sit in a pocket and he landed a lot of shots."
At the press conference, Mayweather was also asked if his criminal past would have a bearing on his boxing career. "Only God can judge me," he said.
Pacquiao had said "thank you" to Mayweather at the end of the staredown.
Pacquiao also thanked God before the flight. "Everything I have accomplished, God has given me this strength," Pacquiao told reporters at a pre-fight press conference, according to The Telegraph. "I used to sleep in the street, hungry, and I cannot imagine that the Lord raised me to this level of life."
Pacquiao fought while his right shoulder had been injured during training, and his request to take an anti-inflammatory shot in his dressing room before the fight had been denied.
Pacquiao felt he had won the fight, as some of his left hands seemed to shake Mayweather. "I thought I won the fight. He didn't do nothing except move outside," Pacquiao was quoted as saying. "I got him many times."
Pacquiao recently recounted in a media interview how his life changed after he heard the voice of God and saw two angels, and has said he wants the world to know "there is only one way of salvation, only through Jesus Christ."
Pacquiao, the 14th highest paid athlete in the world as of 2013 according to Forbes, had earlier said he doesn't take credit for his devotion to God. "I'm really thankful that God has given me this kind of a heart."