• Welterweight

Pacquiao: Mayweather Jr will never fight me

ESPN staff
July 29, 2013
Manny Pacquiao does not believe he will get the chance to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr © PA Photos
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Manny Pacquiao has admitted he may never step toe-to-toe with undefeated welterweight star Floyd Mayweather Jr, believing the American will not fight him.

A potential super-bout between 'Money' and 'Pac Man' has long been mooted, but a number of stumbling blocks over the years have seen negotiations come to nothing.

Earlier in July, Mayweather Jr stated Pacquiao was a "has-been" and had missed his chance to face him in what could have been one of the biggest fights ever seen.

Now, Pacquiao has responded to the claim insisting he is not considering a potential fight with Mayweather Jr anymore.

"I've stopped thinking about him because I don't think he will fight me. I've been waiting four years already," Pacquiao told Boxing News.

However, Pacquiao's quip appears to contradict the thoughts of his trainer Freddie Roach, who has called for Mayweather Jr to put his 'Money' where his mouth is.

"I still want the biggest fight in the world," Roach told On The Ropes Boxing Radio. "I want Mayweather Jr to step up and fight Manny Pacquiao. "He said Pacquiao is washed up. Get in the ring and we will see."

Pacquiao returns to the ring on November 24, where he faces Brandon Rios in Macau. Roach, though, was keen on a fifth rematch with Juan Manuel Marquez.

"I'm real disappointed, because the only fighter we wanted to fight was Marquez. We wanted the rematch," Roach said. "Manny was looking forward to it, I was looking forward to it, and then he [Marquez] went in a different direction.

"Hopefully, he will fight us back someday, but you know, he chose not to fight us so we had to go with the second choice."

Meanwhile, Mayweather Jr puts his titles on the line against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in a blockbuster Las Vegas bout on September 14.

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