His trainer Freddie Roach wants the new WBO welterweight champion to take on Mayweather after Saturday’s demolition of Miguel Cotto.
Pacquiao cemented his claim to be the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet when he stopped Cotto in the 12th and final round of their Las Vegas showdown at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Pacquiao twice knocked the Puerto Rican to the canvas in earlier rounds before referee Kenny Bayless ended the fight after Pacquiao had pummelled Cotto on the ropes.
The 30-year-old dominated the official ringside statistics, connecting with 336 of 780 punches thrown to 172 of 597 for Cotto. He also landed 276 power punches compared to Cotto’s 93.
After blowing away blockbuster opponents Oscar de la Hoya, Ricky Hatton and now Cotto in consecutive fights over the last year, the stage is set for a fight to take on the undefeated Mayweather.
The brash American returned to the ring after a short-lived retirement following his December 2007 victory over Britain’s Hatton with a clinical unanimous decision win over Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez. Yet Mayweather’s prior inactivity cost him his pound-for-pound top ranking and all the talk has been of a megafight with the Filipino to settle the issue.
Publicly the former welterweight champion has said he would only fight Pacquiao if he got the lion’s share of any purse.
Pacquiao kept his cards close to his chest. “My job is to fight in the ring and I think that depends on (Top Rank’s Bob) Arum my promoter to negotiate that fight,” he said.
“I’m just going to take a vacation first and spend time with my family and have fun.”
But there was no stopping Pacquiao’s trainer from picking out an opponent for his southpaw star.
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“The whole world wants to see him fight Mayweather and I want Mayweather,” Roach said.
Arum himself added: “I’ve promoted Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, and Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter I have ever seen.”
Hall of Fame trainer Emanuel Steward said there was only one logical next step for the 30-year-old Filipino.
“There’s no doubt you have to go with Mayweather,” said Steward.
“When you have a fight that’s been made by the public more than the fighters, that’s what happened with Tommy Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard. The public said we want that fight to happen and that’s why it happened.
“Manny has earned his position as an attraction and to me not just as pound-forpound but as one of the alltime greats. I’d put him up there with the Ray Robinsons and Alis.”
Having gone down to a second defeat in 16 months, 29-year-old Cotto insisted he still had a future in the ring.
“I will continue fighting,” he said: “Manny is one of the best boxers I ever fought.
“I didn’t know where the punches were coming from.”
Pacquiao said he would not move up any higher in weight.
“For me I think this is the last weight division I’m going to fight in and I think my trainer will be happy to hear that because 154 is too big for me and 147 is my regular weight,” he said.
