As Floyd Mayweather Jr. prepares for his September 14th superfight with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, the always outspoken pound-for-pound champion has openly discussed his previous misfires in trying to organize a bout with Manny Pacquiao, a man once considered his equal.
Fans around the world clamored for a matchup between the two for years while both men were destroying all comers, but recently Pacquiao's stock has dropped, following a controversial split decision loss to Timothy Bradley, and a knockout loss to archrival Juan Manuel Marquez.
Now Mayweather (44-0, 26 KO) says if a fight with Pacquiao were to happen, he would decide all the terms.
"Everybody's like, 'Aw, Pacquiao,' but I'm just letting you know he's not getting a fight with me," Mayweather said to Yahoo! writer Kevin Iole. "The only way he's getting the fight with me is if he signs with Mayweather Promotions. He's got to give me fights with Mayweather Promotions. If he don't give me no fights under Mayweather Promotions, then he's not getting the fight. That's how it is working now, because the ball is in my court. The ball has been in my court. I have been the A side."
While Pacman's star has diminished to a degree, his name looms so large in the boxing industry that an impressive victory on November 23rd against heavy-handed brawler Brandon Rios could vault him back into the Mayweather conversation.
Lost in all this is the impressive 23-year-old Alvarez, who poses a threat at least as large as Miguel Cotto did to "Money," if not a bigger one. Alvarez is 42-0-1, with 32 knockouts to his name, and just finished beating a slick, highly-effective defensive fighter in Austin "No Doubt" Trout.
Before Mayweather can worry about what Pacquiao can do to earn a shot at him, he should be very wary of the young, hungry, Mexican champion who will stare across the ring at him in short order.
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