• Boxing

Mayweather roars back at Ortiz critics, talks Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather Jnr insists WBC welterweight king Victor Ortiz is a worthy opponent for his long-awaited comeback fight on September 17.

After more than a year out of the ring, Mayweather will once again lace up his gloves against 24-year-old Ortiz, who has won 29 of his 33 fights, with 22 of those triumphs coming within the distance.

Critics have claimed that Ortiz is not in the same league as Mayweather - although he did claim a notable scalp last time out, ripping the WBC strap from the previously unbeaten Andre Berto.

Regardless of Ortiz's quality, the fight is not the one that most fans are desperate to see - but a Manny Pacquiao-Mayweather clash does not appear any closer, as the blood-testing dispute rumbles on.

"There's always excuses when I fight - they say he's too small, too slow, too old," Mayweather told fighthype.com. "They say I have a hard time with southpaws, but last time I checked I was 41-0 so I can't have too many problems.

"The world has been talking about this fight anyway since we weren't able to get a fight done with Pacquiao because he didn't want to take the random urine and blood tests.

"I really feel bad for the fans that have been waiting for me and Pacquiao to fight for so long. It's just, if I fight a fighter, I want to make sure that he is 100% pure and natural. I'm not saying Pacquiao is cheating, that goes for any fighter.

"We don't have a venue at this time [for Ortiz], but September 17, that is my official date. As of right now, the venue is up in the air. Me and Ortiz will have a press conference in the UK and I'm putting on a training exhibition over there."

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