Strength and conditioning coach Memo Heredia believes Floyd Mayweather Jr. needs to prepare harder than ever if he wants to pass the biggest challenge of his Hall of Fame boxing career.
Mayweather, who holds a perfect 47-0 record with 26 knockout victories, will put his perfect card on the line when he collides with Manny Pacquiao on May 2 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Heredia, who was best known for helping Juan Manuel Marquez improve his physique during his fourth fight against Pacquiao that ended up in a knockout win for the Mexican, told BoxingScene that Mayweather needs to be at the best shape of his career on Cinco de Mayo weekend.
Mayweather was pushed to the limits by Argentine challenger Marcos Maidana during their first fight in May last year. For Heredia, Pacquiao will do better than Maidana on May 2nd, which makes his believe the reigning pound-for-pound king should raise his physical state for the highly anticipated showdown.
"I think after the Maidana fight Floyd knows he needs to be in better shape for May 2nd," Heredia told BoxingScene. "He knows he needs to be more conditioned. You need to be 100% or 200% to fight Manny. Manny is a volume puncher and throws a lot of punches."
Heredia predicted the upcoming showdown will be a battle of speed and it will be difficult for the judges to name a winner if the fight goes the distance. Aside from their vaunted speed, Heredia said Pacquiao is an explosive and accurate puncher, while Mayweather is an efficient fighter who connects well with his punches.
In order to make sure that he will walk away with a 48-0 record after the May 2 fight, the world renowned strength and conditioning coach said Mayweather should go for the kill.
When asked if the unbeaten world champion has enough punching power to knock Pacquiao out, Heredia said that he is unsure about it, but there is still time for him to work on improving that area of arsenal.
"Mayweather is super fast but I haven't really seen him punch anybody hard," Heredia added. "I haven't seen him throw any heavy punches like he used to back in the day. Maybe that is something he needs to work on, punching power, instead of just relying on speed because now you are going to have two guys going at it with speed."
Mayweather, the reigning World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association welterweight champion, is considered favorite to win over Pacquiao, the World Boxing Organization welterweight kingpin.
