Despite taunts, Pacquiao holds no grudge toward Mayweather Jr.

There were the accusations he was using steroids.

There was the video of the racist rant.

There were the disparaging remarks that he had lost a couple of fights and had to work his way back to the top of the list and wasn’t worthy of being part of a megafight.

Manny Pacquiao had heard it all from Floyd Mayweather Jr. and his family. And for a while, he was angry about it.

How angry? The two-term congressman from the Philippines sued the Mayweathers for defamation of character after they publicly alleged Pacquiao was using performance-enhancing drugs in 2009.

Pacquiao claims to no longer bear any grudges against Mayweather. They settled the slander case out of court (Pacquiao was awarded $114,000). Pacquiao supposedly has let bygones be bygones over the racist remarks Mayweather made about Pacquiao cooking rice for him.

In the 2010 video that appeared on Ustream.com, Mayweather chided Pacquiao by calling him “Poochiao” and then lit into him with this tirade:

“I’m on vacation for about a year, about a year. As soon as we come off vacation, we’re going to cook that little yellow chump. We ain’t worried about that. So they ain’t gotta worry about me fighting the midget. Once I kick the midget ass, I don’t want you all to jump on my (expletive). So you all better get on the bandwagon now. … Once I stomp the midget, I’ll make that mother (expletive) make me a sushi roll and cook me some rice.”

But that was then and this is now. On Saturday, Pacquiao and Mayweather finally will meet inside the ring and settle their differences at the MGM Grand Garden.

The run-up to the megafight, which is expected to break every gate and pay-per-view record in boxing history, has been civil between the fighters — particularly from Mayweather, 38, who has gone out of his way to praise Pacquiao and his 57-5-2 record with 38 knockouts.

“I hope when the fight is over, we can pray together,” Pacquiao said. “For me, this is not personal. But it’s personal for the boxing fans. We have to prove something to the fans.”

Both future Hall of Fame fighters are looking to cement their legacies. For Pacquiao, the opportunity to be the first professional to defeat Mayweather, who is 47-0 with 26 knockouts, has been a big motivator. But not the sole motivator.

“This is the biggest fight in my boxing career, and I want to make it a good result for my resume,” said Pacquiao, 36.

His longtime trainer, Freddie Roach, said he can’t remember Pacquiao this engaged in his preparation. Yes, there were the usual visits from celebrities. Yes, he did his obligatory TV appearance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” — the ninth time he has appeared on the show.

But as far as distractions, this was one of the better Pacquiao camps in terms of keeping the nonsense to a minimum.

“Manny was an active participant in putting together the game plan,” Roach said. “He watched a lot of tape of Mayweather, something he never does, and he saw some things he thought would work, and I agreed. I’m very pleased with what I saw from Manny. We didn’t have a lot of people bothering us, and I think we’re perfect for this fight.”

Pacquiao has been in great shape for other fights only to have his calves cramp during the fight. To combat that, he has been using a special anti-cramping cream that reportedly costs $1,800 a tube. Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said the cream isn’t that expensive, but that Pacquiao pays a premium price because doesn’t have health insurance in the United States.

But given he stands to make $120 million Saturday, he can afford to overpay.

“My legs, they feel very good, no problem with cramps this time,” Pacquiao said. “I tend to overtrain sometimes early in my training camp, and I had some problems. But I feel fine.”

He also had a blister on the bottom of his left foot early in camp that set off alarms throughout the Philippines that he was seriously hurt. But Roach said the matter was quickly addressed and Pacquiao was back in the gym a day later.

Pacquiao said he is prepared to adjust during the fight.

“We don’t have just one strategy,” he said. “We have two or three strategies. If he runs, we have a strategy for that. If he stands and fights, we have a strategy for that, too.”

Pacquiao said the nearly six-year delay in making the fight isn’t a disadvantage to him.

“I feel more experienced,” he said. “Style-wise, I’m the same fighter I was five years ago. My determination, inspiration and killer instinct is the exact same as it was five or six years ago.”

And with that experience, Pacquiao said he doesn’t even think this will be his toughest fight.

“I cannot say (Mayweather) is the most difficult fight,” Pacquiao said. “I fought Oscar De La Hoya. I fought Miguel Cotto. (Juan Manuel) Marquez. Those were difficult fights.”

But those fights don’t carry the magnitude of this one. Pacquiao knows it and said the moment won’t be too big for him.

“My first concern is always to give my fans enjoyment and make them happy,” Pacquiao said. “But this fight, this fight is important for me and for my country. I expect to win.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.