Floyd Mayweather Jr has told Manny Pacquiao to get in touch so he can work with him, not fight him again.
‘Money’ was responding to the latest call-out from his long-standing rival following the Filipino’s world title win over Lucas Matthysse last month.
Mayweather laughed off the idea of a rematch after winning their ‘Fight of the Century’ showdown in 2015, but with Pacquiao no longer with long-term promoter, Bob Arum, the American says he can help his former foe.
“I can’t knock Manny Pacquiao for what he wants to do, that’s his prerogative,” he said.
“If he still wants to go out there and make money, be victorious that’s his prerogative. You do whatever you want to do. I don’t have nothing [sic] against Manny Pacquiao.
“Of course, he’s supposed to call the Mayweather name. I’m probably going to be one of the biggest names of all time in this sport, if not the biggest name. When you call the Mayweather name out, I mean, you speaking dollars.
“I’m not really doing interviews but I’ve been asked the question probably seven times, with one saying, ‘why are you scared to fight Pacquiao’ – like beating him once wasn’t good enough.
“It is was it is and Pacquiao is a future Hall of Famer, a hell of a champion and a hell of a guy. But the best man won and I was the best man.
“Actually, I’m [going to] get on the phone with Pacquiao after this call see if we can put him in position. There’s a lot of good competition out there that he could fight.”
Mayweather suggested Pacquiao should take on Mikey Garcia, with the American unifying the IBF and WBC titles on July 28, two weeks after ‘Pac-Man’ was crowned the WBA ‘World’ king in his 69th professional fight.
Pacquiao called out Mayweather on the back of a rejuvenation victory over Lucas Matthysse last month, although the former pound for pound king would rather promote the Filipino legend than trade blows with him again.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao first match , was billed as The Fight of the Century, or the Battle for Greatness, was a professional boxing match between undefeated five-division world champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. and eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao. It took place on May 2, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather Jr. won the contest by unanimous decision,with two judges scoring it 116–112 and the other 118–110.Although the fight was considered to be one of the most anticipated sporting events in history, it was largely considered a letdown by critics and audiences alike upon its broadcast.
Despite predictions that Mayweather–Pacquiao would be the highest-grossing fight in history as early as 2009, disagreements between the two professional boxers’ camps on terms for the fight prevented the bout from coming to fruition until 2015.The failure to arrange the Mayweather–Pacquiao fight was named the 2010 Event of the Year by The Ring. Serious negotiations were kickstarted in 2014 by an unlikely source: a Hollywood waiter and part-time actor, Gabriel Salvador, made a key introduction between Pacquiao’s trainer and confidant Freddie Roach and CBS President Les Moonves, who both worked to facilitate the match.By 2015, negotiations for the fight had been finalized, with all of the major issues that prevented the fight from happening in the past resolved, including purse split, drug testing, and location.
Despite the large amount of hype that surrounded it, critics felt that the bout itself was disappointing, primarily citing Mayweather’s defense-oriented strategy in the ring and Pacquiao’s difficulty in landing punches on Mayweather. This had led to some critics re-labelling the fight ‘Better Never Than Late’ rather than ‘The Fight of the Century’.It was later revealed following the event that Pacquiao had sustained an undisclosed injury to his right shoulder while training, and that while it had healed in time for the fight, he re-injured it during the 4th round. Further controversy emerged when it was alleged that prior to the fight, Mayweather had been administered IV fluids cleared by the United States Anti-Doping Agency through a retroactive “therapeutic use exemption”—an exemption, however, not authorized by the Nevada State Athletic Commission.