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Now, basking in the glow of his victory and more than US$100 million richer, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not pulling any punches when asked for his thoughts on Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao.
“I don’t even want to say anything bad about Manny,” Mayweather said in an interview with Showtime Sports. “But he’s leaving me no choice.”
Mayweather out-boxed Pacquiao in their welterweight showdown last May 2 to win a unanimous decision – his 48th straight professional victory. After the fight, Pacquiao admitted that he fought with an injured right shoulder, which irked Mayweather.
“He was fast. His left hand was fast, his right was fast, and he was throwing them both – fast and strong,” Mayweather said when asked if he observed any problem with Pacquiao’s shoulder during the fight.
“Six days before the fight, he boxed four rounds. And if you go look, when he came on to Las Vegas, he was throwing combinations. Everything seemed fine. (He was) waving to the crowd (with) both hands,” he said.
Once the bell rang, however, it was all but over for Pacquiao – at least according to Mayweather.
“He was a beat fighter from round one,” he said. “He knew it. ‘I can’t beat Floyd Mayweather.'”
Excuses, excuses, excuses
Mayweather said Pacquiao is only making excuses because the “Pacman” knew he was a “beat fighter” right from the very start.
“He’s embarrassed,” Mayweather said. “He was a beat fighter. There’s a difference between a great fighter, and TBE (The Best Ever), and I proved that I’m the best.”
“Excuses, excuses, excuses,” he added. “I knew it was coming. I knew it.”
Mayweather, however, said he does not buy “into the (expletive)” and doesn’t want the public to buy into it either.
“He lost, he knows he lost,” Mayweather said. “I lost a lot of respect for him after all of this. You know, you fight, and if you lose, it’s okay.”
“If you lost, accept the loss and say, ‘Mayweather, he was the better fighter. He was the better fighter.'”
Asked if he was annoyed with Pacquiao, Mayweather said he was “very upset” with the Filipino fighter.
“Did I text (ESPN host) Stephen A. Smith and say I will fight him again? Yeah, but I changed my mind. At this particular time, no. Because he’s a sore loser, and he’s a coward,” said Mayweather.
‘Not on my level’
His victory against Pacquiao established Mayweather as the best fighter of his era, and strengthened his claim on the moniker of “TBE” or “The Best Ever.” The American boxer also believes his win showed once and for all that he is better than Pacquiao.
“I won. I know I won. I know I’m the better fighter,” he said. “We fight 10 times, I’m gonna win 10 times. We fight 20 times, I’m gonna win 20 times. We fight 100 times, I’m gonna win 100 times.”
“Manny Pacquiao, he’s just not a better fighter than me,” he stressed.
“Manny Pacquiao, you’re not on my level,” he also said, facing the camera as if he was directly addressing the Filipino legend. “Manny Pacquiao, you will never be on my level. Plain and simple.”
Yet Mayweather also said there’s no shame in being the second-best fighter of the era.
“It’s okay to be number two,” he said. “It’s okay to be right behind me. It’s okay.”
Post-fight merchandize
In the wake of his victory over Pacquiao, Mayweather has come out with “limited edition” shirts and caps to celebrate his “greatness.”
Mayweather posted a photo on Instagram, showing his limited edition “The Best Ever” shirt which will only be available for a short time.
“I’ve designed an official, limited edition victory shirt, available for just two weeks,” he said in the caption.
Photo: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (Instagram)
This article has been re-published with permission from ABS-CBNnews.com.
