Mayweather rips Pacquiao over drug testing, lawsuit, fighting 'leftovers'

During an hour-long conference call Wednesday promoting his upcoming clash with WBC welterweight titleholder Victor Ortiz on Sept. 17 in Las Vegas, unbeaten six-time, five-division  titleholder Floyd Mayweather Jr. addressed a number of topics, the most riveting of which was eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather (41-0, 25 knockouts) ripped Pacquiao (53-3-2, 38 KOs) as having faced his "leftovers," referring to the fact that Pacquiao defeated Ricky Hatton and Shane Mosley after they already had already lost to him.

Mayweather, 34, took shots at Pacquiao's lawsuit against him seeking compensatory and punitive damages for defamation of character, claiming that Mayweather has insinuated that the Filipino superstar's success over eight weight divisions is owed to performance-enhancing drugs.

Pacquiao, who has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, names in the lawsuit Mayweather Jr., his father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., and his uncle and trainer, Roger Mayweather, for having "conducted a campaign in a set of interviews to make people think he used them."

Mayweather also addressed Pacquiao's upcoming Nov. 12 defense against RING, WBO and WBA lightweight titleholder Juan Manuel Marquez, who was considered too small when Mayweather beat him.

Mayweather also discussed why he chose to face Ortiz (29-2-2, 22 KOs), whom he watched dethrone Andre Berto (28-1, 22 KOs) as titleholder by a unanimous decision in April.

Below are Mayweather's responses to various topics.

On Pacquiao, a southpaw, and trainer Freddie Roach saying he is fighting Ortiz, a southpaw, to prepare for Pacquiao:

"On one note, they're trying to take me to the court room. I prefer to hold court inside the squared circle. America's the country that I live in, and I'm all about being fair. If you truly believe that you're the best, then take the [drug] test.

On one note, Freddie Roach and Team Pacquiao don't want me to speak on them at all. So, if you're at a [Juan Manuel] Marquez press conference, why is Floyd Mayweather's name coming up?

"Unless you think you're on the same level as a Floyd Mayweather? That's all that I'm saying. Of course, as long as he attached to my name, he's going to make great pay days."

On the notion that Pacquiao has faced his "leftovers:"

"As long as he can keep fighting Floyd Mayweather's leftovers, or a fighter that has already been beaten, then the media has to really pay attention to this. They say Shane Mosley looked the best when he beat Antonio Margarito.

"His next fight was against Floyd Mayweather. I'm only fighting him when they say that he was coming off of his best performance. So after I beat Shane Mosley, then he gets a draw. Like I said, fighters are never the same once they face me.

"So then he fights Pacquiao. Once again, I beat him first. After Antonio Margarito gets beat by Mosley, then Pacquiao fights Margarito. Margarito cheats and beats Miguel Cotto and then, that's when Pacquiao says I want to fight Cotto.

"I beat Hatton when he's undefeated, and then he goes and fights Hatton after I already beat him. He wasn't the same. Now, Marquez called me out. Once again, I took the Marquez fight, the guy that they had rated No. 2 pound-for-pound, after I had taken two years off.

"Now they say that Floyd Mayweather is too big for Marquez, but he's not too big for Pacquiao, but they're the same size."

On Pacquiao's increase in size and power:

"It's okay for him to go from 105 to 154 and he gets knockouts, and they say, 'You know what? It's all natural. But if I went from 147 to heavyweight and was knocking out heavyweights, would that be all natural? That's what you've got to ask yourself at the end of the day.

"Like I said before, I never accused anybody of doing anything. If anything, it's obvious that you must be hiding something. If I say I'm the best and you say you're the best, we're fighting for the best belts, we're fighting for the best titles in the world, and we're fighting in the best country in the world.

"So you have to have the best testing, and that's all that I ask. And the thing is this, I'm not just picking on one guy. Everybody that I face has to take the test. Because this sport is a little different from how it used to be. It's tainted. So that's all I'm saying."

On Pacquiao's lawsuit.

"Once again, the guy says, 'I'm suing Floyd Mayweather for saying that I've done this or I've done that.' But you're still attaching your name to me, and you all are still speaking on me. You all are speaking on me, but you don't want me speaking on you guys at all."

On whether Mayweather-Pacquiao will come off:

"I'm not going to speak on this again. It's useless. If the guy wanted the fight, he could have been had the fight. You all know this. Where was the guy in '97? Where was the guy in '98?"

On his health:

"My health is more important than money."

On the critics of his boxing skills:

"Certain individuals call themselves boxing experts. But I feel like what better fighter if you want to build a fighter or pattern his style, what better fighter to use than Floyd Mayweather?

"And that's not bragging or boasting, I just feel that I have the remedy and I know how to win, whether it goes the distance or it's a knockout. The main thing about life is winning in life.

"...I've been dominating the fight game since Victor Ortiz was nine years old until now, and I'm still sharp."


On the importance of retiring undefeated?

"I feel like anything can happen on any given night. But, you know, if anything, if a fighter beats me, I want him to do it the honest way. The fair and honest way.

"Because I've done it the fair and honest way for 16 years. No matter how much Floyd brags or boasts and no matter how much he talks about his money, when it's all said and done, I'm fair. So the only thing that I want to do is that I want to be treated fairly. That's all."

On why he performed so well in knockout victories over Genaro Hernandez, Diego Corrales and Ricky Hatton:

"They came to fight. Genaro Hernandez came to fight. We were banging toe-to-toe. I think he approached it like the best man was going to have to win.

Hatton always approached fights like I'm going to win, and either you're going to get me or I'm going to get you. I think that even after Hatton faced me, I don't think that he was ever right again.

"He was never the same. Same thing with Corrales, he was never right again once he faced me."
 
On aging:

"They say I'm still looking sharp, and they say that I'm still looking you...I still feel strong and I still feel sharp. When I get to the gym, once I get started, I'm a little different than ever other fighter.

"I don't shadowbox. When I get to the gym, I just put my wraps on and get right into the ring and start sparring. So I'm a little bit different than any other fighter. Of course, I run at three or four in the morning.

"I don't think as far as me deteriorating or losing skills, I think I'm still very, very sharp and still strong. The reason why is because I don't think that I've been in any toe-to-toe wars.

"When a fighter gets into a lot of toe-to-toe wars, it's wear and tear on your body. I haven't taken no abuse, so I think God for blessing me with this great defense."

Lem Satterfield can be reached at lem.satterfield@gmail.com