Jesse Hart added to Mayweather – Pacquiao card

Undefeated Super Middleweight Jesse Hart of Philadelphia has been added to the off-tv portion of the May 2 mega showdown between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao card in Las Vegas according to Dan Rafael of espn.com.

“My eyes got big and I was like, ‘For real?’ I originally had a fight on April 10 and he said it was canceled. ‘You’re fighting on May 2,'” Hart told ESPN.com on Thursday when hearing the news from his promoter Bob Arum. “I only knew of one other card on May 2. He said, ‘Yup, you’re on the card, your first 10-round fight.’

“As I was talking to him, my eyes were watering up. This was a for real moment.”
“You got to look at the opportunity and just be grateful,” Hart said. “It’s a big deal to be on a card like this. I love Bob Arum. He’s not only my promoter. We talk often and not just about boxing. He gives me advice on my family life and things I should do raising my daughter. I have a father but Bob is also a father figure to me. He gives me advice on things I don’t know.

“I have genuine love for Bob Arum and Top Rank. And my matchmaker at Top Rank, Brad Goodman, is the best in the business. They have treated me so good. I am excited to be on the biggest card in the history of boxing. I come from North Philly, a very rough area. To make it out there to be on a card of this magnitude, it’s a big deal.”

“He’s one of my favorites,” Arum said. “I really, really like the kid. I pulled seniority. It’s my company and I made the call. No secret agenda other than I really like the kid and I think he has a bright future.

“He’s such a gentleman. I love the kid. Every fight he has he calls me up and he thanks me. Who does that? And I am a great admirer of his father. So to be able to do this, to put the kid on this big show, it makes me feel good. I said to [others at Top Rank], ‘That’s my spot. I’m picking Jesse.'”

“It’s not necessarily pressure but I’m so excited that he recognizes my talent,” Hart said. “If the boss of the company calls and says, ‘You’re on the card,’ it’s my opportunity to become a superstar. He helped make Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd into superstars and you can go back to Muhammad Ali to see what he has done. Bob Arum makes guys into superstars, and that’s what I want to be.”

“I was in the gym and I’m thinking, ‘I’m on the biggest card in the world.’ My dad and everyone is happy,” Hart said. “After this they’re gonna know who I am. It makes me train even harder. My dad had to pull me back but I’m still getting up at 5 in the morning and running six miles, five days a week. Go to the gym at 3 in the afternoon and train. At night I go swimming.

“We are training hard for this fight like we’re fighting for a world title, doing six-minute rounds in sparring.”

“Bob said being on this card should inspire you to be in the main event, and it does,” Hart said. “After boxing, Bob will still be a friend of my family. I can’t explain how much he has done for my life. Things I can’t talk to my dad about I can go to him. He’s like the angel on my shoulder.”