EVANDER HOLYFIELD believes Floyd Mayweather should think long and hard before agreeing to face Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather, 33, is widely expected to battle pound-for-pound king Pacquiao next year. But Holyfield has hinted the man known as Money will only take the fight if he is 100 per cent certain of preserving his unbeaten record.
The Real Deal said: "Nobody will ever make as much money as those two if they decide to fight.
"But somebody's got to get the decision and if Mayweather doesn't win, it hurts his whole legacy.
"If Pacquiao loses it doesn't hurt anything because he's a nice guy and people never expected him to be up there anyway.
"Mayweather's got more to risk because Pacquiao's lost before and I think he proves why it's so important to be a good guy.
"Michael Moorer once said that people will always like me regardless of whether I win or lose — and that's because I don't brag about what I do.
"I know that each and every time I box I'm going to give my all — and Pacquiao is exactly the same.
"The only person who's won all his fights is Mayweather, but that can stress you out because you don't want to lose.
"Mayweather is a sharp fighter and his testimony is 'you ain't ever gonna beat me'.
"He's fought the best of the best so you have to question how big his ego is to risk it all against Pacquiao."
With Mayweather boasting 41 wins in 41 fights, many pundits believe he will have the edge over the naturally smaller Pacquiao.
But Holyfield claims Pac-Man's fighting spirit makes it too hard to call.
He added: "Mayweather may be the sharpest fighter out there, but on the other hand Pacquiao may be the only one who can deal with anything.
"Mayweather is a spot fighter, whereas Pacquiao will throw more punches and fight all the time.
"If you ain't punching he's still punching, if you're punching he's still punching back.
"Mayweather has always been able to make adjustments but he's going to have to step up and take it to another gear against Pacquiao.
"If he gets hurt, he can do exactly that, just like he did against Shane Mosley.
"At the end of the day, you don't really know how good a fighter is until they are tested."
Most fight fans claim the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout must happen for the good of the sport.
But Holyfield does not believe it will be a knockout blow if the two camps fail to agree terms.
He said: "It ain't got to happen — this sport is not going to die because of those two.
"It is a good fight that people want to see, but this game will continue to produce good fighters all the time.
"Good and bad will come and go, and more will always come in."
Source: thesun.co.uk
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