The big day is finally here as Floyd Mayweather is set to take on Manny Pacquiao in the biggest fight in boxing history. Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, believes that the first Foot Locker commercial featuring Manny had a lot to do with the contract eventually being signed.
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From Roach’s standpoint, the nationally televised TV spot accomplished two things. First, it positioned Pacquiao in the public’s mind as the plucky underdog who really wanted the match. And made it look it was Mayweather who was ducking the big fight.
Second, it inspired Pacquiao to publicly declared he wanted a piece of Mayweather — rather than deferring to promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank Boxing as he always had in the past.
“I told Manny, every time you’re on TV, you should do that bit (from the commercial) over and over. Because it’s the first time he put pressure on Mayweather,” Roach said in an interview with Sporting News. “And it was a lot better answer than, ‘Ask my promoter.’”
Pacquiao took his trainer’s advice. After he beat Chris Algieri in Macau on Nov. 22, he dissed Floyd performing his Foot Locker routine in a post-fight TV interview on HBO.
