MANNY PACQUIAO still wants to fight Floyd Mayweather, but the Filipino?s trainer, Freddie Roach, does not believe that desire is mutual. Speaking inside the MGM Grand in a sun-drenched Las Vegas, Roach claims that Mayweather is now focused on retiring undefeated, rather than fighting the best fighters out there.
?Mayweather is good at what he does,? Roach explained. ?But he?s boring. He doesn?t have the balls to go for it and look for knockouts. I fell asleep during the [Robert] Guerrero fight, Jesus Christ. And now Mayweather?s dad is back in charge, it will all be about defence. It?s boring, and his next fight [against Marcos Maidana] will be boring too.?
That May 3 contest ? that takes place three weeks after this Saturday?s Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley rematch ? dominates the advertising here. Card tables, billboard posters, and even the lobby at the MGM, is all geared towards promoting Floyd. This has infuriated Pacquaio?s promoter Bob Arum, but Roach has not been remotely offended by the lack of marketing surrounding his charge?s crucial, and rapidly impending, outing.
?Manny won?t give a shit,? laughed Roach. ?He won?t care if there aren?t any posters of him around and I certainly don?t care. We have far more important things to worry about.?
Like Bradley, of course. But conversation, as it always does when Pacquaio or Mayweather are in action, quickly turned back to the long overdue meeting between the two rivals.
?The most important thing for Mayweather is to retire undefeated,? Roach continued. ?So he won?t fight anyone that will endanger that. He won?t take chances. Then he can retire without a loss on his record and claim he?s better than fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson who did suffer defeat.
?I?m not concerned about Manny fighting Mayweather anymore. Manny agreed to a 60-40 split in Mayweather?s favour, he was on the phone and he agreed to that, but then time passes and we don?t hear anything. If it was going to happen, it would have happened by now.?
Although Roach now believes that Mayweather is not interested in fighting Pacquiao, he is also certain that three years ago, when the fight constantly flirted with fans? desires, that both fighters were keen to make it happen. But, Roach explains, the divide between Oscar De La Hoya?s Golden Boy and Bob Arum?s Top Rank was the defining factor.
?It?s the promoters. I still believe that fighters are fighters and they want to fight the best. That?s worrying. Years ago, Don King and Bob Arum hated each other but they still promoted fights together. That?s not the case now with Golden Boy. It?s a tough situation because the pool of fighters available to fight is getting smaller and smaller. We?re going to run out of fights.
?Two years ago I believe Mayweather wanted the fight, just like Pacquaio did, but now he?s getting closer to the end, he?s focused on different things. But when the fighters were at their peaks, I?m sure they both wanted to make it happen.?
