By Mark Vester

A strong case is being made for Manny Pacquiao's position as the best fighter of the decade. Some feel he clinched the position. One person who doesn't see Pacquiao's career in the same light is Floyd Mayweather Jr. During his recent Sky Sports interview, Mayweather attacked all of Pacquiao's accomplishments - including his dominating rise through the weight divisions, and his wins over Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Erik Morales, Marco Antonio Barrera, Juan Manuel Marquez and Oscar De La Hoya.

"When Erik Morales was washed up, is the same guy who beat Manny Pacquiao. And Erik Morales beat Manny Pacquiao after being beat by Zahir Raheem [Editor's Note: Morales beat Pacquiao BEFORE he lost to Raheem]. They talk about Pacquiao came up from 106. Manny Pacquiao was 16 when he weighed 106. Just like me, when I was 16 I was fighting at 106. I was just an amateur. My dad could have turned me pro and guided my career if that was the case but it didn't happen," Mayweather said.

"Then Marquez he fought him to a draw and then he struggled with him. Oscar De La Hoya, he fought an Oscar De La Hoya that I already beat. When I fought Oscar De La Hoya they chose the gloves for me. You never heard of a fighter choosing another fighter's gloves. in a championship fight. I wasn't even able to choose my own gloves. You take Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya went down to welterweight, a weight that he didn't make in nine-years."

"And then Ricky Hatton who kept ballooning up in weight and coming down. He ballooned up in weight and came down to fight at welterweight and then had to go down seven more pounds for Pacquiao [Editor's Note: Hatton fought twice at 140 prior to meeting Pacquiao at the same weight]. I already beat Ricky Hatton when he was undefeated. I beat Oscar De La Hoya for the junior middleweight title after he was coming off a very impressive knockout of Ricardo Mayorga. Then once I beat Marquez, [they say] he's over the hill."

"He beat a washed up Erik Morales. He beat a washed up Barrera because Morales and Barrera beat each other half to death. Then when he fought Marquez, he really lost the second fight. In the first fight, he knocked him down three times in the first round and still got a draw so we're really saying is that he got outboxed. Oscar De La Hoya I already beat him. Ricky Hatton I already knocked him out. And then Cotto coming off a brutal fight with Margarito, a tough fight with Clottey and a tough fight with Zab Judah."

Mayweather is claiming favoritism for Pacquiao. Based on his comments, he is taking a shot at HBO for the favoritism. He says Pacquiao is being built up as the guy to beat him and the network shows Pacquiao a lot more respect.

"What's going on right now in the sport of boxing. They are trying to build a fighter to beat me. I don't get no respect in the sport of boxing. I do my interviews, and you have different fighters who disrespect me and come in on my interviews which is not fair. Manny Pacquiao, he can do his interviews for twenty minutes and then they go interview his trainers and the rest of the people from his team. With me you have guys jumping in and being very disrespectful," Mayweather said. 

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