During a private sitdown meeting with select members of the media, undefeated pound-for-pound champion Floyd Mayweather addressed recent reports that he contradicted himself when he told a journalist attending his open workout that he never said Pacquiao would indeed be his next opponent. During a previous press conference to promote this Saturday’s showdown with WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz, Mayweather stood at the podium and stated, “Manny Pacquiao, yes, you’re next!” According to Mayweather, he made that comment because it was something that the fans and the media wanted to hear, and he wanted to make it clear that he’s not avoiding the fight for any reason whatsoever, however, due to obstacles that are still standing in the way of making the fight a reality, he can’t honestly say that Pacquiao will indeed be his next opponent, assuming that all goes well on Saturday.
“They don’t tell these fighters certain things that I tell these fighters, so does that make me a bad guy? Absolutely not. That makes me honest. Have I ever contradicted myself? Absolutely. I’m only human. We all have. When they say, ‘Oh, yeah, he contradicted himself about the Pacquiao fight,’ yeah, I mean, when I get up on the podium and I say, ‘Yeah, Pacquiao, you next,’ if that’s what y’all want to hear, that’s what I gotta give y’all because that’s what y’all want to hear anyway,” Mayweather explained. “I’m not ducking and dodging nobody; never have ducked and dodged no one.”
