With rumors that Amir Khan and Floyd Mayweather's May 3rd bout may not be set in stone, could Manny Pacquiao sneak back into the conversation as Mayweather's next opponent?
The demand for the fight may be way down in comparison to the fever pitch anticipation reached a few years ago, but if Pacquiao can impressively floor Brandon Rios in China, he may have the cache to make a big-money match work. One person who still wants to see it? Floyd Mayweather Sr.
"If Floyd makes sure that he's [Pacquiao] clean, checking him from head to toe..He's the last man standing," Mayweather Sr. said. "I think he [Floyd] would give Pacquiao a very good whipping. He's got to take every test...If anything looks strange with Floyd getting whupped by Pacquiao, we going to have to stop that fight right there and see what the hell is going on with Pacquiao. Something won't be right, believe that."
Accepting a bout with Pacquiao would represent a real reversal in Mayweather's thought process, though. The younger Mayweather has been very outspoken about how little he wants to fight the Filipino.
"He's not going to get a chance to fight me," Mayweather said to MLive.com in August. "Now, I'm feeling like I wouldn't even give him a chance. He had a chance, he blew it, so that's what it is." Mayweather's also called Pacquiao a "has-been," mocking him for back-to-back losses against Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez.
These comments upset Pacquiao, who responded by saying, "Let's get it on then." He also said the fight should be simple to make, and that Floyd should want the matchup since he can "easily beat him."
Pacman has explained away the previous losses as bad judging and bad luck, promising to show his real self against Rios.
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