Mayweather: Let's Make the Pacquiao Fight May 2

Check his interview here, Mayweather finally speaks up http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:12022370 Floyd Mayweather Jr. says he's ready to fight Manny Pacquiao next May in a long anticipated bout that would be the richest ever in boxing. Mayweather called for negotiations for the fight to be take place, though he warned Pacquiao not to expect to get anywhere near the money that he himself would make. "You lost twice and now you're coming back begging for the same money?" Mayweather asked. "That's not gonna happen." In an interview on the Showtime network from a fight card he was promoting in San Antonio, Mayweather for the first time called for the fight to happen and even gave a date ? May 2. He claimed it wasn't him but Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, who has been the main obstacle for not making the fight in the last five years. "Floyd Mayweather is not ducking or dodging any opponent," Mayweather said. "Bob Arum is stopping the fight. We have been trying to make this fight happen for many years behind the scene." Pacquiao turned the pressure up on Mayweather to make the fight last month, saying the time had come to put on the much anticipated bout. Arum said he had also been in talks with CBS Corp. chairman Les Moonves about the fight. CBS operates Showtime, which has Mayweather under contract for two more fights in May and September. Mayweather repeated his old charges about Pacquiao not wanting to do blood tests prior to the fight for it not happening five years ago. He also said he offered Pacquiao $40 million for a bout, but he refused. Mayweather, who hasn't lost in 47 fights, said he was confident he could beat Pacquiao and eager to star in an extremely lucrative fight. "I know that he's not on my level," Mayweather said. "The fan would love to see the fight. And, of course, I want to go out with a bang." No one knows how rich a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight would be, coming so late after it first should have happened in 2009. There are some who think both fighters have slipped some with advancing age, but there's no doubt that the fight still holds tremendous appeal. It would likely gross at least $250 million, and Mayweather's purse alone would be more than $100 million. Mayweather was not asked in the ringside interview about the murder-suicide of rapper Earl Warren Hayes and his wife in Los Angeles on Monday. Police spoke to Mayweather after the killings following media reports that he may have spoken to Hayes before he shot Stephanie Elyse Moseley and then took his own life in their apartment. http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/wireStory/mayweather-make-pacquiao-fight-27574213

Comments (7)

Either he practiced his line this time or he didn't sound shook as hell like when he said "And yes Manny Pacquiao, you're next" at the Ortiz press conference. I don't think he's thinking straight after all that Earl Hayes stuff, or maybe he realises #fightthurman is the alternative.

11y ago

GoldenGloveLove

#fightmayweather

11y ago

SlySlickSmooth

Either he practiced his line this time or he didn't sound shook as hell like when he said "And yes Manny Pacquiao, you're next" at the Ortiz press conference.

11y ago

Beercules

Wow! That's amazing! Haven't seen this posted 2500 times last night/this morning. But of course Floyd still brings up Marquez and Bradley. :sad:

11y ago

soul_survivor

he's still talking about the money though...

11y ago

meme_man

#FightPacquiao http://i41.tinypic.com/29zcyeh.jpg

11y ago

lamadoo

Theres a video here with Mayweather !!! http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/12022404/floyd-mayweather-jr-says-wants-fight-manny-pacquiao-proposes-2-bout Pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. has had precious little to say about the fight the public has demanded for years, a bout with Manny Pacquiao -- until Friday night. Mayweather said during a Showtime interview that he wants to fight Pacquiao next and wants the fight to be May 2, the Cinco de Mayo weekend that Mayweather has regularly fought on. "We are ready. Let's make it happen. May 2nd. Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao. Let's do it," Mayweather said in the interview in San Antonio, where his promotional company was putting on a boxing card. In the days before Pacquiao dropped Chris Algieri six times in a near-shutout decision to retain his welterweight title Nov. 22, he and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum launched a verbal offensive in an effort to kick-start the pressure on Mayweather. Pacquiao even starred in a Foot Locker commercial mocking Mayweather's supposed reluctance to face him in what would be by far the richest fight in boxing history. Friday night's interview included Mayweather's first extended remarks on the prospect of the fight in quite some time, and it was the first time he directly said he wanted to fight Pacquiao next and mentioned a specific date. The fight has been demanded by the public since 2009, and the sides have had various unsuccessful negotiations, most notably in late 2009 and early 2010, when they made a deal on all aspects of the fight except for a drug-testing protocol. The deal fell apart. "I would love to fight Manny Pacquiao. We tried to make the fight happen years ago; we had problems with random blood and urine testing," Mayweather said. "I just want to be on an even playing field. Now he's in a very, very tight situation. He's lost to Marquez , he's lost to Bradley . Pay-per-view numbers are extremely low. He's desperate. I wanted that fight a long time ago. I'm just waiting on them." Mayweather failed to mention that Pacquiao long ago agreed to be randomly tested. He also failed to mention that while Pacquiao's pay-per-view figures have indeed been soft in recent fights, Mayweather's have also plummeted. Three of the four fights that he has had so far under his six-fight contract with CBS/Showtime failed to reach even 900,000 buys. Pacquiao and Arum have been pressing for the fight in recent weeks, and Arum has held talks with CBS president and CEO Leslie Moonves in an effort to work out a deal under which Showtime and HBO, which has Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) under contract, would produce a joint pay-per-view. The companies did that once before for the 2002 heavyweight championship fight between Lennox Lewis, who was signed to HBO, and Mike Tyson, who was with Showtime. Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs), however, perhaps had not heard about the Arum-Moonves talks because he told Showtime, "Of course, we have to make the fight happen on Showtime pay-per-view, because 'Showtime Championship Boxing' is No. 1 and will remain No. 1. I'm the man. I'm here to stay. "Floyd Mayweather is not ducking or dodging any opponent. Bob Arum is stopping the fight. We have been trying to make this fight happen behind the scenes for years now, but the fans and the people have been fooled because they have been listening to people just on one side. Now it's time for us to talk. We want the fight." Asked about his chief motivation for wanting the fight, Mayweather said, "I know that he's not on my level. The fans would love to see the fight. And, of course, I want to go out with a bang." Then Mayweather, in a rant that sounded like he was cutting a WWE promo, spoke directly to Pacquiao and Arum. "So let's make this fight happen. Manny Pacquiao, Bob Arum, you guys have been ducking us for years," Mayweather said. "We're tired of you guys fooling the public, fooling the critics. You guys didn't want to take random blood and urine testing, so that's why it didn't happen. Then I offered you $40 million, then you didn't want to make the fight happen. You lost twice, now you coming back begging for the same money. That's not gonna happen. Let's make the fight happen for the people and the fans. Mayweather versus Pacquiao, May 2nd, Cinco de Mayweather." May 2 is already the target date for an HBO pay-per-view fight in negations between middleweight champion Miguel Cotto and former junior middleweight titleholder Canelo Alvarez for what would be the first fight of the deal Alvarez recently signed with HBO after leaving Showtime.

11y ago