By Edward Chaykovsky

Golden Boy Promotions President Oscar De La Hoya feels WBC/WBA welterweight and junior middleweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. was pressured into accepting a fight with Manny Pacquiao, the WBO champion, on May 2nd at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Mayweather had long planned to return to action on May 2nd. Some of the opponents that were mentioned included Amir Khan and Miguel Cotto.

De La Hoya's company was also planning to stage an event on May 2nd, with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez facing James Kirkland. Canelo and De La Hoya refused to move away from the date, choosing to go live on HBO to oppose Mayweather on Showtime Pay-Per-View. De La Hoya was only willing his event on one condition - if Mayweather agreed to fight Pacquiao. 

“I do feel that Mayweather was pressured into this fight,” De La Hoya said to USA Today. “I believe that Mayweather was boxed in from the pressure coming from (CBS CEO) Les Moonves, the pressure coming from (Top Rank CEO) Bob Arum, the pressure coming from Pacquiao and the pressure coming from Golden Boy.

“We’ve said all along that we want to see the best fights for the fans, and we stuck to our guns with Canelo fighting May 2, and the only way we were going to move is if Mayweather-Pacquiao is made, and it was made, sure enough. As long as these fights are being made, as long as the fans are happy, that’s all that matters.”