Shortly after his official grand arrival to the city of Las Vegas ahead of his Saturday night clash with Puerto Rico?s Miguel Cotto, Floyd Mayweather Jr. held court with a select group of media members inside of the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino.
And despite being three days away from a pivotal bout with Cotto, the reigning WBA junior middleweight champion of the world, Mayweather took some time to vent his frustrations towards Filipino icon and WBO welterweight champion Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather and Pacquiao have had the sport on pins and needles for the past few years because of the temptation of a possible fight between the two but the two sides have never gotten past the negotiating table. In early January of 2010, a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight feel apart because of Floyd?s insistence for a strict drug-testing protocol leading up to the fight, a proposal Pacquiao was opposed to at the time but one in which he reportedly has since lightened his stance on.
Speaking to the press, including our friend Rick Reeno at BoxingScene.com, Mayweather again brought up the issue of performance-enhancing drugs and how it related to Pacquiao, who has shocked the masses by moving up in weight late in his career on his way to winning titles in eight divisions.
?Where was Manny Pacquiao at 96? He was a pro before me,? said Mayweather of the 33-year old Pacquiao. ?Where was he in 97? Where was he in 98? Where was he all these years? All I?m doing is just asking a question. Come on, it?s basic common sense now. And guess what, it took me all these years to get here. It took me years to get here. Go back and look at the pictures. His head is small and then all of a sudden his head just grew? Come on man, stop this. Ray Charles can see this sh*t. Go back and look at the pictures and tell me this man?s head didn?t get bigger. You?re going to tell me this sh*t is all natural. Come on man, stop.?
Mayweather himself is no stranger to collecting titles in multiple divisions, having won titles in five weight classes, but seems to be in disbelief at the destructive fashion in which Pacquiao has performed in recent years.
?I?m going up in weight but I?m not just walking through no damn fighters,? said Mayweather. ?This mother*cker was 106 and he?s just walking through Cotto. And Cotto can?t knock down Mosley but he can? Come on man.?
Mayweather also showed disdain to his fellow U.S. citizens, claiming they are being lenient when it comes to the issue.
?These are the American people who don?t stand behind me,? Mayweather said. ?They stand behind these foreigners. I got more love in the UK.?
When informed that Pacquiao?s promoter Bob Arum has went on record in claiming that his fighter is open to random drug testing prior to such a fight, Mayweather struck back.
?Bob Arum is a professional liar,? Floyd Jr. stated.
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