After the controversial majority decision win awarded to Manny Pacquiao during his third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez last November 12, FightHype.com caught up with Floyd Mayweather Jr. and asked for his thoughts regarding the fight.
Check out what Mayweather has to say about it in an exclusive interview:
BT: What’s up Floyd?
FM: How’s it going Ben?
BT: You know, I can’t complain, at least not as much as Marquez can about losing another controversial decision to Pacquiao. I know you didn’t get a chance to watch the fight.
FM: I didn’t. I was at the club. I had a party in Virginia. I got some text messages and some emails about the fight last night though. I didn’t watch the fight, but from what I’m hearing, Marquez got cheated. Win, lose or draw, whoever I fight still has to be tested with random blood and urine tests.
BT: From what you’ve heard, do you have any comment on Pacquiao’s performance?
FM: I can’t really say nothing about him because there’s been a defamation of character case filed against me. In the past, I was able to criticize my opponents and talk trash in a playful manner, but I guess, you know, with me talking trash to Manny Pacquiao, I got a lawsuit. I mean, Ali’s done it and a lot of the other top fighters have done it. Fighters, we do it back and forth to each other. I mean, the fight could’ve happened the way it happened because, you know, someone is slowly changing so they can prepare to fight me. They know they’re going to have to take the random blood and the random urine tests.
BT: So you think there’s a chance that they may actually want to fight you next?
FM: What I don’t really understand is, I know Manny Pacquiao can’t really speak much because he don’t really understand English, but he may know a few words because he do live in the States from time to time, so…I personally think it’s Bob Arum having a vendetta. I think he’s very very upset with me because, you know, I exposed and I opened the world’s eyes up to different things. I never officially came out and said that I believe Manny Pacquiao is on steroids or that I believe he’s on enhancement drugs; I never came out and said that he actually is. I only stated my opinion on what I believe in.
BT: Well after the fight, Bob Arum was talking more about a 4th fight with Marquez than he was about a fight with you.
FM: Why? I mean, I truly feel that Marquez is never going to get the benefit of the doubt. I want to congratulate Marquez and I want to congratulate Manny Pacquiao for doing it a third time, but I just feel like if you get it done right the first time, there’s no need for a second or third fight, and if it is needed, do it again in the same fashion and in the same way, or do it even better. People fail to realize, when I faced Marquez, I was two years off just traveling and vacationing. I took two years off, no working out, no other activities. I went into training camp and then the fight had got pushed back because I had an injury, so that pushed it back a little bit more, but I still went out there and performed and looked marvelous. If I fight a guy and I don’t knock him out, they say, “Well, Mayweather didn’t knock him out.” If I knock him out in the late rounds, they say, “Well, what took so long?” If I knock him out in the early rounds, they say, “Well, you can always catch a guy cold.” Like I said before, I’m always in a no-win situation. If I fight a guy that’s my age, they’re going to say, “You know what? He’s over the hill.” When I fought Marquez, they said Marquez was over the hill. Remember, when I fought Marquez, I think he was 36 and I was 32. Now, two years later, Pacquiao is 32 and Marquez is 38.
BT: They also said Marquez was too small for you. I know you didn’t get a chance to see it, but Saturday night, on HBO’s unofficial scales, Pacquiao weighed in at 148 pounds while Marquez weighed in at 150 pounds. He was actually 2 pounds heavier than him.
FM: I mean, like I said before, I never accused Pacquiao of nothing, but I think I’m entitled to my own opinion. I just had an opinion. I didn’t say, “I know you doing this” or “I know you doing that.” I said some jokes in the past, had fun, doing it smiling, and we talked about it, but if I was or wasn’t joking, it’s just my opinion. I’m entitled to my own opinion. People have said things about me, and wrote and criticized me about things in the past, but it goes in one ear and out the other. A lot of times, I don’t hear about it because, like I said before, I don’t read it if it’s negative. If it’s positive, then they know to bring it to me.
BT: After the fight, Freddie Roach said that Marquez has given Pacquiao problems three times now and he has to do a better job of dealing with counter-punchers, but in the past, he’s suggested that you would be an easy fight for them because they have you figured out. Do you think there’s a reason why Roach would make such contradictory statements considering that most people say you’re the best counter-puncher in the sport.
FM: I’m not going to say nothing about Freddie Roach. He’s battling Parkinson’s Disease, so I don’t want to say nothing bad about him. If he says something about me, they’re gonna be like, “Oh, Freddie Roach is chewing Floyd Mayweather out,” but if I say something about him, they’re gonna be like, “Why is he talking about a guy that has a disease.” The only thing I can do is wish Freddie Roach nothing but the best with all of his fighters and I’m going to continue to do what I do. Freddie Roach has faced me before and he came up on the short end of the stick. Like I always say, a trainer can’t get in there and fight for a fighter. I mean, it ain’t no different for me. A trainer can train you, but you have to go out there and execute the game plan and that’s something that I’m able to do.
BT: Bob Arum recently called you a coward, suggesting that you didn’t want to fight Pacquiao because you were afraid of his right hand and…
FM: (Cutting in) I don’t even worry about that because he do know who I am. When they say stuff like that, my skin is tough. It goes in one ear and out the other. I don’t ever worry about that. When they put me on ESPN and they talk about negative things, or when they put me on TMZ and they talk about negative things, I’m just glad that I’m relevant; to have lasted this long being relevant. Bob Arum says a lot of things that I just don’t understand. They say he [Pacquiao] is getting $22 million and then they say he’s getting $6 million. I mean, what’s the number? You hear certain things, negative things, all the time that aren’t true, but you never hear about the positive. You never hear them talk about how Al Haymon is one of the best business guys, not just in the sport of boxing, but one of the best business guys in the world. You don’t hear them talking about how we gave money to Breast Cancer research. I mean, these are things they never talk about.
BT: When they actually do talk about the positive things, like paying for the funerals of Joe Frazier and Genaro Hernandez, do you think it’s looked at in the wrong light because you’re “Floyd Mayweather” and perceived to be a “villain”?
FM: I feel it was only right to pay for Joe Frazier’s funeral. That was only the right thing to do. I offered to pay the whole thing, but HBO stepped up and said they’d like to be a part of it too. Even though I put it out on Twitter, I didn’t do it for no publicity. I did it because he’s a legend and I think if he was in my position, he would do the same thing for me. Guys like Frazier is why I’m where I’m at. The first time that a lot of Americans ever heard about the Philippines is when Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier went over there and fought in the Thrilla in Manilla. That’s a legendary fight. A legend should be able to be buried in style. Is it okay for me to tweet one of the good things that I’m happy about doing?
BT: Of course. Like I always say, it’s my account, so I should be able to say what I want. I mean, that’s what Twitter was created for; to allow me to communicate with the people who follow me. If you don’t like what I have to say, then don’t follow me.
FM Okay then.
BT: Bob Arum and Freddie Roach have consistently told the media that you’re scared to fight Pacquiao. This past Saturday, we saw Pacquiao struggle with Marquez, who you dominated. Immediately after the fight, they were quick to remind everyone that the counter-punching style of Marquez is difficult for Pacquiao to deal with. Now, even though they won the fight, it looks like they’re going after Marquez for a 4th time. Does that saying anything to you about what they think Pacquiao’s chances are should he ever face a style like yours?
FM: I’m just saying that, you know, if he’s having a problem with Marquez, I mean, Marquez is a good counterpuncher, but I’m the best to ever do it. We knew where Marquez was at. When Mayweather was dominating the sport, Marquez was also dominating way back when. Marquez didn’t just pop up out of the blue. A majority of the great ones all went to the Olympics, American fighters and other fighters that come from other countries, like Kostya Tszyu. You know, Kostya Tszyu had that amateur background and went to the Olympics. Floyd Mayweather, De La Hoya, Pernell Whitaker, Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, Goerge Foreman, Holyfield, Roy Jones, Sugar Ray Leonard, and the list goes on and on. All these guys had went to the Olympics and they knew these guys were something special from the beginning. I mean, it’s hard for me to just know that a guy can go from a C+ fighter to an A+ fighter. It’s hard for me to believe, you know?
BT: You mentioned that Marquez was dominating way back when. He turned pro back in ’93, I believe, and fought most of his career as a featherweight. It wasn’t really until 2007/2008 when he started moving up in weight to super feather/lightweight. Now he’s a welterweight. You’ve been fighting at jr. welter/welterweight since about 2004. Did you ever think that you’d see a guy like Marquez competing in the same division as you?
FM: Even though I started off at 130 as a professional, I eventually moved to welterweight. My father was a welterweight, so, you know, the apple don’t fall far from the tree. I’m supposed to be a welterweight because that’s the weight my dad fought at. Like I said before, I don’t have anything to hide. Test me now! I don’t have nothing to hide. When people say “this person said this about you Floyd” or “this person said that about you”, the only thing I say is that I’m glad that they know who I am. They took their time out to comment, or speak, or tweet, or text, or email; whatever it took for them to comment about me, I feel good because I got some of their time and they know who I am. They’re keeping me relevant. Even when I was away from the sport, my name was still coming up on the regular. Like I said before, I’m pleased with where I’m at as of today.
BT: Yeah, they’re definitely keeping you relevant, particularly HBO, who did a wonderful job of making it sound as if Pacquiao’s subpar showing against Marquez might “convince” you to get in the ring with him, as if you were the one holding up the fight.
FM: From what I heard, they said the commentators was real biased Saturday night. I mean, we got commentators that don’t like me because I’m telling the truth, like what happened with the Larry Merchant situation. All I really wanted to do was thank the fans who flew out or drove out to see me fight, that have supported me over the years. I wanted to thank the fans that tuned in and bought the pay-per-view. That’s the only thing I wanted to do was give the fans thanks and tell them thank you, but he was cutting me off. And I’m not saying Jim Lampley don’t have a good voice or he don’t commentate good, but he don’t have no experience at boxing, so he really don’t know what’s going on. How can somebody specialize and talk about something that they never did before?
BT: Well that’s what I thought Manny Steward was there for, but even he seems like he’s becoming more and more of a company man. I’d expect him to be the voice of reason when it comes to what’s going on inside the ring, but sometimes, a lot of times lately, he says some crazy stuff. Sometimes it’s like he’s simply auditioning for a training gig with whoever is fighting that night (laughing).
FM: You gotta realize that Emanuel Steward is an Uncle Tom. If you notice, Emanuel Steward always says Floyd Mayweather don’t throw combinations like this fighter or that fight. He’ll say what’s-his-name throws 4, 5, 6-shot combinations. Well that shows you how good I am. I don’t have to do all that and I still can get the job done, so that tells you what level I’m on. You know, other fighters have to throw 10, 20 and 30-punch combinations. I don’t. I’m a sharpshooter. I know where to place the shots and, like I said, I know when to fold and when to hold.
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