Mayweather more aggressive in training, drops sparring partner

Photo credit: Floyd Mayweather Official Facebook fan page via ABS-CBN Sports

By Milan Ordonez  

MANILA - Floyd Mayweather is not usually known to play the aggressor role, but for Manny Pacquiao, he's making an exception.

The reigning pound-for-pound boxing king began training camp last week, in preparation for his May 2nd encounter with his five-year on-paper rival. And according to people behind the scenes, Mayweather is a different animal, this time around.

"Floyd doing his thing. He dropped one of the guys with a body shot," HustleBoss.com owner Chris Robinson told CBSSports.com on Sunday.

Mayweather's fighting style has always been anchored on his ability to make his opponents look like amateurs through superb counterpunching. Which is why is newfound love for the come forward style surprised many boxing fans, with some expressing their apprehensions about it.

“An aggressive mindset may lead to a more ‘tit-for-tat' style of contest, where he'll get more on the receiving end," said boxing columnist Marc Livitz. “Maidana made him fight for his life last May (2014), regardless of the ‘I fought that way for the fans' schtick.'" 

"[Mayweather's] known to beat the crap out of his sparring partners. Swarming Pac would not be the answer, because I still think that despite the fact that Pac is now powerful on each side -- he can still be outboxed.”