Posted by Sabrina B. @gametimegirl

It is no surprise that boxing rivals Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are on different sides of the fence when it comes to Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin. Mayweather thinks Lin is overhyped because of his Asian heritage and Pacquiao, a congressman and national hero in the Philippines, thinks the Knicks’ guard is Linsational and just wants to shake his hand.

Pacquiao, the WBO welterweight champion, is making plans to meet with Lin at Madison Square Garden next Wednesday. Pacquiao will be in town for a press conference at Chelsea Piers on Thursday to announce his match against Timothy Bradley in Las Vegas on June 9.

Pacquiao is a basketball fiend. He owns a basketball team in the Philippines called the MP-Gensan Warriors. Pacquiao is a point guard on the team and wears No. 17 — the same as Lin.

“The only thing is when he is driving to the basket down the lane, the sea parts,” said Lee Samuels, a spokesman for Top Rank Boxing, Pacquiao’s promoter.

When Pacquiao made his first trip to Chicago during a press tour to promote his match against David Diaz in 2008, one of the first things he wanted to see was the statue of Michael Jordan outside of the United Center.

“He just stared at it for the longest time,” Samuels said. “He really loves basketball. Wherever he is, he’s always trying to get a pickup game.”

Since Pacquiao and Mayweather, who is also a big basketball fan, can’t seem to get together in the ring, maybe they can go one-on-one on the basketball court.

WRITTEN BY TIM SMITH / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS  & FULL STORY HERE