Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar Ronda Rousey will be in favor of Manny Pacquiao when the Filipino boxing icon collides with Floyd Mayweather Jr. on May 2 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Rousey said that she is one of the millions of people who were thrilled after Pacquiao and Mayweather finally agreed to face each other after numerous talks for the fight went down since 2009.
The UFC women's bantamweight champion said that she is looking forward to seeing the top two boxers of this generation collide. When asked who she thinks will win, Rousey picked 'Pacman' over Mayweather.
"Pacquiao has been very, very nice to me so I'm going to root for him," Rousey told TMZ Sports.
Rousey added that she wants to watch the fight live in Las Vegas and she is making it as a motivation for her upcoming title defense against Cat Zingano at UFC 184 on Saturday.
Rousey said in jest that she needs to win against Zingano in order to buy a ticket for the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight, which is significantly more expensive than the usual because of the magnitude of the upcoming fight.
"I really want to go so bad," Rousey said following a workout for his upcoming fight against Zingano. "I gotta go beat Cat Zingano so I can make a couple million dollars and afford that ticket."
Meanwhile, Mexican boxer Juan Manuel Marquez also believes Pacquiao has a chance to win against Mayweather on Cinco de Mayo weekend, but he pointed out that his nemesis should knock the reigning pound-for-pound king out.
Marquez pointed out that Mayweather is being favored by judges in Las Vegas, citing the unbeaten champion's victory against Jose Luis Castillo, where most fans thought the challenger defeated Mayweather. In order to avoid the same fate, Marquez said Pacquiao should go for the knockout.
"I know how judges perform in Las Vegas, as we saw in that fight where José Luis Castillo beat him. However, the judges gave it to Mayweather and Pacquiao has no alternative but to knock Mayweather out to end his undefeated record," Marquez told Clarica.
Marquez is familiar with the capabilities of Mayweather, having lost to the Grand Rapids native in their fight in 2009. The 41-year-old Mexican knows Pacquiao very well since they have collided four times before. Their fourth bout in December 2012 ended in a scintillating sixth-round knockout victory for Marquez.