By Edward Chaykovsky
Eight division world champion Manny Pacquiao has turned his back on a potential fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao, who returns on April 12th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, was hoping to lure Mayweather in the ring in 2014.
It appears Mayweather, who returns on May 3rd, is not willing to negotiate until Pacquiao becomes a free agent at the end of the year when his contract with Top Rank expires.
Pacquiao is going place the Mayweather fight on the backburner and revisit the match at a later point in time.
"He really looks like he does not want to fight me, so, I think there’s nothing we can do about it already,” Philboxing.com quoted Pacquiao as saying during an interview during the SCOOP Sa Kamayan On Air radio program on DAZR.
"Let’s forget about it for the meantime. For the last four years, negotiations for the fight have been on and off and nothing had come out. He’s been asking for so many conditions which we have expressed intentions to abide by like drug testing, purse split and everything. Now he wants me to separate myself from my promoter (Bob Arum) which I cannot possibly do without violating my contract.
“First, I would like to make it clear that I am not chasing him. If ever, I want to face him in the ring for boxing fans, in particular, and sports fans, in general. That fight is what everybody wants. That’s history in the making and I want both of us to be part of history."