• Boxing

Pacquiao won't 'waste time' on Mayweather

Manny Pacquiao takes on Chris Algieri on November 23 in Macau © Getty Images

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Manny Pacquiao won't "waste his time" waiting for Floyd Mayweather to call, according to his trainer Freddie Roach.

Pacquiao is currently on a two-week tour around the world with Chris Algieri to promote their WBO welterweight title fight, which takes place in Macau on November 23.

However, a long-proposed showdown between eight-division world champion Pacquiao and the undefeated Mayweather is looking as far away as ever.

"Who's that?" Pacquiao joked, when reporters mentioned Mayweather's name in Macau on Monday.

With both boxers entering their twilight years, Roach was also blunt when quizzed on the prospect of the fight ever coming to fruition.

"We can't waste our time waiting for him," Roach told news agency AFP. "We've done everything we could to make that fight happen. It's like, we're available if he's interested in it, but again we can't sit around waiting for him."

Pacquiao and Mayweather, the two greatest fighters of their generation, came close to agreeing a bout in 2010, which, it is believed, could have generated a record $300 million (£180m) in pay-per-view revenue.

However, the proposed fight fell through due to Mayweather's demands for Pacquiao to submit to blood testing in training.

Roach has said that Pacquiao subsequently agreed to the testing, but a fight with Mayweather has come no closer to being made. The lack of a deal has nothing to do with a lack of clamour though, not after Pacquiao got his career back on track with wins over Brandon Rios and Timothy Bradley in the past nine months.

"The possibility to fight with him, you know, the question is not for us," Pacquiao said. "It's for them because any time we are willing to fight, any time. I think that question belongs to them, their camp."

A further obstacle to any potential Mayweather-Pacquiao fight are their respective deals with rival American networks Showtime and HBO.

Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum of Top Rank, said on Monday that the two networks must "find a way to promote and satisfy both sides from a legal basis" if the fight is to be agreed.

Arum believes the desire is there to strike a deal, but says the final decision lies with Mayweather.

"With Showtime and HBO wanting the fight and Manny wanting the fight, there is one little step to take and that's to see where Floyd stands," Arum said.

The earliest the fight could take place is in 2015, though Mayweather's more immediate concern is a rematch against Marcos Maidana next month, while he has been tipped to fight Amir Khan next year.

Pacquiao is also being lined up for a fifth fight against Juan Manuel Marquez, who knocked him out in 2012, should he beat undefeated WBO light welterweight champion Algieri.

"Hopefully we can put Marquez in with Pacquiao next year," said Arum.

Pacquiao's current deal with Top Rank runs until 2016, when he will be 37, and he is likely to retire upon seeing it out.

However, Mayweather, who is already 37 years old, has a record of 46 wins and no defeats and is unlikely to want to risk his legacy against Pacquiao, especially with Rocky Marciano's career mark of 49-0 in sight.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd