Emanuel Steward: 'I do feel that Floyd does have a fear of losing to Pacquiao'

His views on recent comments made by Marvin Hagler when Hagler stated he thought Mayweather “might be a little scared of Pacquiao” and he compared Mayweather’s demands of Pacquiao to the demands Ray Leonard made of him before their super fight: “Well I can understand how he feels that way because he portrays himself as being the pure fighter. I guess he relates more to Pacquiao than to Floyd, because Floyd is like the ‘Golden Boy’ picking and choosing the way that Leonard was. So it’s normal for him to say that. By the way, I’ll tell you that I think Marvelous Marvin Hagler was the greatest middleweight champion ever. I mean you look at the greatest fighter pound for pound in all things is Ray Robinson, but Ray Robinson’s greatest ability was really as a welterweight. We just don’t see it because movies of it weren’t taken, but he dominated for about seven years. It was phenomenal what he did, but when we saw him as a middleweight he was 31 years old. With just plain middleweights, I think Marvin Hagler is the best middleweight champion ever. But that’s another topic entirely, right there. I would say yes, to some degree, that Floyd is and you can’t blame him. If he’s able to do this and get away with it, why shouldn’t he? He’s been able to pick and choose his opponents and make mega millions of dollars so I can’t fault him for that. I mean if the public is willing to go along with it, he should do it if he can. To some degree, I do feel that Floyd does have a fear of losing to Pacquiao any way you look at it, so he’s trying to get every possible advantage he can get. In my personal opinion, I think if he comes out and fights his regular fight and is trained the way he normally trains, he’s not going to beat Pacquiao because he wasn’t in condition because of them are in great condition. I think he has an edge over Pacquiao, myself personally, because I think his size and his skills will give him a slight edge but it doesn’t mean anything if he doesn’t feel that way. So I think that there are some doubts in his mind somewhere about the fight, and that’s why he’s trying to get any advantage he can. But the public is going to, I think, gradually start losing interest in the fight. As hot as it is, maybe the perception is that it will be bigger even in another year or so. You can’t say. Sometimes interest in certain things changes and it’s at a peak right now. I myself personally feel a certain drop. I may be wrong, but with the general public right now, I think it’s starting to lose its momentum and interest that it has. If it’s going to be made, it needs to be made soon and when I say ‘soon’, I mean it should be made in the next three months, really.”