For the first time ever, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. met face to face and talk in person during a game of the Miami Heat with the Milwaukee Bucks at the American Airlines arena.
The chance encounter happened on January 27 during the halftime of the Heat-Bucks match as Manny Pacquiao, who was at courtside sitting in front of the Miami Heat bench, where Floyd Mayweather Jr. was seated, came over to Money.
They talked briefly amid all the camera lights of sportswriters and photojournalists covering the Heat-Bucks contest and were even seen exchanging numbers. It was a fleeting conversation and there was no animosity at all, unlike their verbal jabs and taunts on social media.
Direct communications from hereon
The Associated Press reported that Pacquiao said Money gave his number to the Pacman and told him that they should be communicating directly with one another.
Pacquiao admitted that he had never met Mayweather up close and in person before although he did say that they once talked over the phone. The Pacman also appeared in Mayweather’s undercard sometime in 2001, details the UK edition of ESPN.
The Filipino boxing icon also told reporters after the chance encounter with Floyd Jr. that the idea of them talking together is to make sure that they start talking directly instead of using traditional channels. That would ensure faster communications and immediate decisions and actions from the two of them.
But Pacquiao said that he does not want to talk about the details of what he and Money talked about during their brief chat on the Miami Heat court, saying it was a private and friendly discussion.
Pacquiao also did not say if they talked about the deadline he has given to Mayweather to fight him or not on May 2 by the end of this month.
Coincidental meeting
Michael Koncz, advisor to Manny Pacquiao, reveals that the chance encounter between Money and the Pacman was purely a coincidence.
While Floyd Jr. is a regular fixture during Miami Heat’s home games as he also lives in Florida, Manny Pacquiao on the other hand was fresh from his stint as judge for the recently-concluded Miss Universe 2015 beauty pageant coronation night also held in Miami on Monday, January 26.
He was scheduled to fly to New York after the Miss Universe pageant but a blizzard or snowstorm was all over the north east coast so Pacman decided to stay for a few days in Miami.
Pacquiao is also a good friend of Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra, a half-Filipino himself, so he also loves basketball and roots for the Miami Heat.
As a matter of fact, aside from being a boxer and a Congressman in the Philippine House of Representatives, Pacquiao is also a professional basketball player and coach in the Philippine Basketball Association for Kia Motors Corporation basketball squad.