Boxing fans still dreaming of an epic showdown between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao had their hopes further diminished on Saturday, the Bleacher Report, a sports website, said Saturday.
David Mayo of MLive.com interviewed Mayweather while he was preparing for his Sept. 14 fight against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. The star fighter said he would never fight Pacquiao, contradicting an earlier interview with Kevin Iole of Yahoo! Sports, in which he said he would consider the bout if Pacquiao fought under the Mayweather Promotions umbrella.
Here’s Mayweather’s statement:
“That’s probably how I was feeling at that particular time. I’m only human. Floyd Mayweather does contradict himself. I’m only human. I’m not perfect. I mean, I think we all do.
“How are things today? He’s not going to get a chance to fight me. I was feeling that way weeks ago. Now, I’m feeling like I wouldn’t even give him a chance. He had a chance, he blew it, so that’s what it is.”
The 36-year-old Mayweather claimed that Pacquiao had an opportunity to square off in the past but didn’t take advantage. Evidently, Mayweather is finished waiting around, likely denying what would be one of the most hyped bouts in boxing history.
Mayweather revealed before his May fight with Robert Guerrero that retirement is a possibility after his deal with Showtime expires (via Dan Rafael of ESPN). The contract calls for up to six fights over a 30-month span.
Mayweather boasts a perfect 44-0 career record with 26 knockouts, and had previously told the Huffington Post that Pacquiao isn’t worth fighting, because the hypothetical clash “no longer holds weight.”
It’s at least a marginally good point from Mayweather’s perspective, because Pacquiao has lost his past two decisions—the most recent of which was to archrival Juan Manuel Marquez, who knocked him out. (Bleacher Report)