Ronda Rousey has got some choice words of encouragement for Manny Pacquiao for the latter's upcoming bout with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2.
In an interview with TMZ Sports, the UFC's current Women's Bantamweight Champion said that she wants Manny to win because he was nice. "Pacquiao has been very, very nice to me so I'm going to root for him," she admitted.
Industry observers see it as no surprise that Rousey would blurt this out because, for one, the Filipino boxer has been very vocal about his support for her. In an Instagram video posted in January 2015, Pacquiao said that Rousey is "a good friend" and that he wishes her "good luck in her upcoming fight," ending the clip with "good luck and God bless you." This video has since gotten over 32,000 likes.
Rousey is scheduled to defend her 137-pound title against Cat Zingano on February 28 at UFC 184 at the Staples Center in Nevada.
On the contrary, Mayweather dissed her in July 2014 saying "I don't know who he is," thinking Rousey is a man. This comment was reportedly made after the UFC fighter had been awarded Best Female Athlete by ESPN. Days after, the undefeated boxing champ issued this apology: "I wish her congratulations because I didn't know who she was the other day. I apologize because I didn't know. I'm used to watching football and basketball. I'm not really into boxing like that. When they tell me, 'Floyd, you need to check out a fighter, you need to scout a fighter' I'll say, 'Well, let me see him. We need to sign him."
Rousey has also told the press that she really, really wants to see the Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather fight, and joked that she needs to win against Zingano in order to afford a ticket. In the same interview with TMZ, she said, "I gotta go beat Cat Zingano so I can make a couple million dollars and afford that ticket."
Ticket prices for the grand bout are expected to be more or less $40,000. According to GMA Network, even Manny himself, who is known for handing out lots of complimentary tickets to his fights, is having trouble scoring some for friends. Speaking in his local language, he told the network that Floyd Mayweather Productions has control of the tickets. He added that while his previous fights came with complimentary passes, but the May 2 fight did not include them. His promoter, Bob Arum, has also reportedly revealed that the ringside seats will be available only to those high-rollers with a minimum $250,000 credit line with the MGM Grand Casino.
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