Manny watches Floyd pass test
Floyd Mayweather Jr. wants Manny Pacquiao to do what Shane Mosley did — submit to Olympic-style random drug testing — so they can meet this year and finally settle who is boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter.
"If he wants to fight, he knows where to find me," Mayweather said of Pacquiao, who watched Mayweather’s 12-round unanimous decision victory over Mosley on Saturday from his home in the Philippines. "If Manny takes the test, we can make the fight happen. If he doesn’t, we don’t have a fight."
Mayweather, who improved to 41-0 by beating Mosley at the MGM Grand Garden, said it’s up to Pacquiao to prove he’s a clean fighter. And the only way he can prove it to Mayweather is by allowing his blood and urine to be sampled randomly by an impartial agency.
"I think all roads lead to Floyd Mayweather," Mayweather said during Saturday’s postfight news conference. "I’m not chasing fighters. If the people want me and Pacquiao to fight, we should fight. But we have to be on an even playing field. Too many fighters are dying.
"I’m a clean fighter. I don’t have to take no performance-enhancement drugs."
Golden Boy Promotions was unable to broker a deal for Mayweather to face Pacquiao in March. But in the wake of Mayweather’s impressive victory, Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya said the negotiations will be different this time if the fight is to happen.
"Obviously we know what both fighters have to do," he said. "But as far as I’m concerned, Mayweather is the one who dictates, Mayweather is the one who says where, when, who and how. He’s the one who calls the shots."
De La Hoya, who has fought Mayweather, Pacquiao and Mosley, said there’s no question in his mind who is the best among the trio.
"I have to be honest, Mayweather is at another level," De La Hoya said. "He’s a student of the game. He’ll dissect you outside the ring and then beat you inside the ring. He can wait for you to make mistakes. Pacquiao makes many mistakes and that will fall into Mayweather’s hands, no problem.
"It’ll be a great fight. Pacquiao won’t quit. He’s like the Energizer Bunny. But I have to tell you Mayweather is the best. Mayweather is special and we have to respect that. He showed me true greatness in that second round. I thought he was going down and couldn’t handle Mosley’s punch.
"All that hard work, that work ethic, it shows that Mayweather is the real deal and the best we have now."
Mosley thought he had his chance when he rocked Mayweather in the second round and nearly sent him to the canvas. But he blamed himself for not being able to follow up.
"Oh, he was hurt. He was hurt real bad," Mosley said. "I was that close to getting him but he’s a hell of a fighter."
Mayweather said he has been hit harder than that.
"He hit me with a good shot," Mayweather said. "But DeMarcus Corley hit me with a harder shot than that. Zab Judah hit me with a better shot than that.
"I wasn’t going to lay down."
Mosley’s trainer Naazim Richardson said: "This was a fight between two guys who are special and whoever made the adjustments would be successful.
"Opportunities were there to get Mayweather, but that window of opportunity closes quickly. Mayweather was able to make the adjustments."
While Mayweather awaits new negotiations with Pacquiao, Mosley, who is 38 and looked every bit his age after the second round, is going to take time off to ponder his future.
"I’ll go back home and look at the tape," said Mosley, still the WBA welterweight champion. "I’m going to take it slow, get some rest and think about what I want to do next."
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.
