Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are nearing their Welterweight title bout for May 2.

Arguably the two best welterweight fighters of the 21st century, Mayweather and Pacquiao, have so much on the line. Legacies, money and championship belts are all at stake.

Mayweather is the favorite to win this fight thus far, mainly because of his unblemished record. If Mayweather is successfully going to defeat Pacquiao, here are five things he has to do:

1. Be Patient

Mayweather probably doesn't have the huge knockout power to drop Pacquiao in an early round and send boxing fans at the MGM Grand into a frenzy. So he should treat Pacquiao just as he would any other opponent. Turning this fight into a long and drawn out match, with Pacquiao throwing twice the amount of blows and tiring himself out, is just what Mayweather wants. If Mayweather can make Pacquiao exhausted in the early rounds, Mayweather can score big points later in the fight.

2. Avoid the Knockout

There's no doubt about it: Pacquiao wants this knockout badly. Pacquiao has 12 more career knockouts, and he has been calling out Mayweather for years. Mayweather has faced southpaws before, but none like Pacquiao. With the advantage in speed, quickness and athleticism, Mayweather knows how to escape bad situations and not get cornered. A lot of boxing experts are predicting that the only way Pacquiao can win is by way of knockout, or an overwhelming technical victory. As long as Mayweather stays clear of the big left hook, he should be fine.

3. Exploit the Size Mismatch

There's no denying who has the size advantage. Mayweather is an inch and a half taller, and he has a five inch reach advantage, 72 inches to just 67 inches. Now, that hasn't halted Pacquiao's progress before, but Mayweather has often had the reach advantage in the past and thrived with it. Freddie Roach knows Pacquiao has to get in close and trade blows with Mayweather because of this. While it's unlikely Mayweather will get the knockout, he's fully aware that he can score points and win round after round with body shots thanks to his five-inch reach advantage.

4. Stay Mobile

The last thing Mayweather wants to do is fight flat-footed like Mike Tyson or George Foreman. That's just not the way he performs at his best. Mayweather will be playing more of a defensive battle, and fighting like a Muhammad Ali will be the way to go. Mayweather obviously isn't Ali, but he has to stay mobile and constantly be moving side to side, up and down shifting his head in order to avoid Pacquiao's powerful jabs and hooks. Mayweather has the endurance to make this fight last all 12 rounds. Staying still could put Mayweather in a very uncharacteristically dangerous situation.

5. Just Be Yourself

If it isn't broken, don't fix it. As the No.1 ranked Welterweight fighter in the world today, Mayweather is 47-0 in his professional career, and he has yet to even be knocked down the canvas. He'll have to make some adjustments, as do all fighters for every match, but he shouldn't change his style given the fact that he is facing Pacquiao. Mayweather should control the fight and make Pacquiao fight his type of battle. The Mayweather camp will most likely try to draw this fight out and get the victory by decision.

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