By Chris Robinson
Shortly after the raucous weigh-in between friendly rivals Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez, I spotted outspoken trainer Roger Mayweather inside of the MGM Grand’s media center in Las Vegas.
Roger’s nephew Floyd Jr., regarded as the sport’s premier pound for pound fighter, appears to be in line for a big 2013, which very well may include two showcases in May and September.
Never one to get overly-excited, even Roger had to admit that he is anticipating Floyd’s return.
“I should be, because that’s actually how I get paid by my nephew,” Roger stated candidly. “I want him to come back in the boxing world and return. And hopefully Floyd can get both of the fights, hopefully he’ll fight [Tim] Bradley and hopefully he’ll fight Pacquiao.”
While it goes without saying how intriguing those matches are, the current promotional feud between Top Rank, who promotes Pacquiao and Bradley, and Golden Boy, who works closely with Mayweather, definitely makes such pairings unlikely.
But Roger seems to dismiss such logic as he continued to express his interest.
“Why wouldn’t it happen?” asked Roger. “Bob Arum got both of em’. Hopefully those fights can happen.”
The more realistic options at the moment for Mayweather seem to be interim WBC welterweight champion Robert Guerrero and WBC junior middleweight titlist Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
“My nephew aint worried about none of them guys,” Roger stated when asked about those key matchups.
As for Pacquiao’s upcoming forth duel with Marquez, Roger seems to feel that the eight-division champion from the Philippines will find a way to pull out the victory yet again, just as he did in their second and third encounters.
“He’s going to win regardless,” Roger said. “It’s going to be a close fight, but he’s going to win. Them two guys, they’re made for one another. And since they’re made for one another, it’s going to be a very close fight. Pacquiao’s probably going to edge him out.”
