Floyd Mayweather says he is ready for a mega-money fight with Manny Pacquiao and believes the new WBO welterweight champion is “one-dimensional”.
Pacquiao cemented his claim to be the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet when he stopped Miguel Cotto in Las Vegas on Sunday.
Immediately after the Pac Man’s triumph at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, trainer Freddie Roach put Mayweather in the Filipino’s sights.
But Mayweather has already upped the stakes ahead of any match-up, saying the Filipino lacks the variety to trouble him.
In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports’ Adam Smith, the American said: “The thing is with Pacquiao I don’t see any versatility as a fighter; he’s a good puncher but just one-dimensional.”
Mayweather also believes he is on a hiding to nothing in taking on the fight and would be expected to win easily.
“I’m in a no-win situation. If I beat Manny Pacquiaodo you know what they are going to say? ‘You are supposed to beat him, you are Floyd Mayweather, you are the bigger man’. If I knock him out they’ll say ‘you’re supposed to knock him out he’s been knocked out before’.
“I’m in a no-win situation and when I beat him no one is going to be surprised because he’s been beaten before; whatever I do to Pacquiao has been done before – he’s been beaten on three occasions. And if I knock him out I don’t want the world shouting because he’s been knocked out twice before. Step up
“The world’s going to go ‘wow’ if Floyd Mayweather gets beaten. That’s what everyone is looking to see.”
Pacquiao was reticent to talk about his plans for future fights in the immediate aftermath of his victory over Cotto, saying: “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. I’m just going to take a vacation first and spend time with my family and have fun.”
Mayweather thinks the Filipino is running scared.
“When they asked Manny Pacquiao ‘would you like to fight Floyd Mayweather’ he said talk to my promoter; they didn’t ask your promoter they asked you, what do you want to do?
“Manny Pacquiaowas asked the same question ‘do you want to fight Floyd Mayweather’ three times. This is something the world is trying to force on him. If he wants to fight Floyd Mayweather all he has to do is step up to the plate.”
What is certain is should the fight go ahead, both men will enjoy a bumper pay-day although publicly Mayweather has said he would only fight Pacquiao if he got the lion’s share of any purse.
And should the two men meet, the man who now calls himself ‘Money’ knows he will be in for another cash windfall.
“If I go out and make $60-75million in one night; come on – I’m not losing.”
