Do you see this fight as a story of volume in terms of how much volume Manny throws in terms of what comes back in Floyd's favor, in terms of the judges?
"Yes, I think that. The combinations, being quick and so forth. It's really key that we're in and out of the pocket really quick, though, because if you stay in the pocket for more than two shots with Mayweather, he's gonna hit you back because he's very quick. So you take two shots, get out of the pocket, make him miss, and counter that back in, you're gonna have more success. But if you stay in the pocket too long, he's gonna hit you back. It's something we really have to concentrate on. It's all about timing and setting it up. That's what we're working on and Manny's been doing it very, very well. He did knock me down yesterday on the mitts. We did nine rounds of mitts yesterday. I was up at six, so--"
He knocked you down?
"It was kind of a slip, I told him, because..."
With those sparring partners simulating Floyd, has it been a little tricky?
"We haven't started sparring yet. I start six weeks out. I know Mayweather's been working already, he knocked out a couple girls or something like that. I did get a report from one of my friends from Mexico that one of his young Mexican boys beat the shit out of him two days in a row. I really don't care about stuff like that. I don't care what he's up to because I gotta get my guy ready for my fight. That's what I'm thinking about."
On preparations to combat Mayweather
"I have faced this man before when I had De La Hoya fight him. I did beat him for six rounds, but then we lost the plot a little bit. We lost the last six rounds. But I did think that fight was pretty close, it could have been a draw. But that was a long time ago. Manny Pacquiao is not like Oscar, but there are similarities in how Mayweather won that fight, because the traps that he set that Oscar walked into were very, very good moves by Mayweather. I've shown Manny his favorite move, the one he makes where he sets you up and walks you into a shot. Manny has to recognize when he's being set up and take that away. It's very easy to do. The experience that I have fighting him in the past will help us in this fight. I'm very happy this fight's finally here, and I'm very confident that I have the guy that's gonna beat this guy.
"Everybody says this guy's undefeated and stuff like that, but remember, he lost in the Olympics, he lost in the amateurs. He was never the best amateur in the world. I don't think he ever won the nationals. He's tasted defeat before and he will taste it again."