After saying in a text message to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith that he would consider a rematch with Manny Pacquiao after a unanimous decision victory on May 2, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is now singing a very different tune. Speaking to Jim Gray during an interview that will premiere on SHOWTIME this Saturday night, Mayweather called Pacquiao a “coward” and a “sore loser” before going on to say he has changed his mind about the possibility of that rematch.
“Did I text Stephen A. Smith and say I will fight him again? Yeah, but I change my mind,” said Mayweather. “At this particular time, no, because he’s a sore loser and he’s a coward. If you lost, accept the loss and say, ‘Mayweather, you were the better fighter.'”
It has been widely reported that Pacquiao fought the fight on May 2 with a severely torn right rotator cuff, on which he recently had surgery that will keep him out of competition for 9-12 months. Mayweather clearly isn’t happy about the mere implication that his victory is somehow tainted, and that a healthy Pacquiao would’ve indeed given him the fits many expected the Filipino might.
“Excuses, excuses, excuses,” continued Mayweather, who remains undefeated in his professional career with a record of 48-0, just one win shy of Rocky Marciano’s iconic 49-0 career mark. “I’m not going to buy into the bull—-… and I don’t want the public to buy into the bull—-. He lost. He knows he lost. I lost a lot of respect for him after all of this.
“I know I’m the better fighter,” Mayweather continued. “If we fight 10 times, I’m going to win 10 times. If we fight 20 times, I’m going to win 20 times. If we fight 100 times, I’m goign to win 100 times.”
Pacquiao has more problems than a little Mayweather bashing at the moment. After failing to disclose the injury on a pre-fight questionnaire, he could face disciplinary action including a fine or a suspension, and there have even been talks of a perjury charge.
Nevada Athletic Commission chairman Francisco Aguilar has said that the state attorney general’s office will investigate why Pacquiao checked the “no” box a day before the fight on a commission questionnaire asking whether he had an injury.
“We will gather all the facts and follow the circumstances,” Aguilar told The Associated Press Monday. “At some point we will have some discussion. As a licensee of the commission you want to make sure fighters are giving you up-to-date information.”
NAC executive director Bob Bennett was more pointed.
“It’s not just the fact he didn’t fill out the question completely, it was that he wasn’t honest and they didn’t tell us a month ago when he had the shoulder injury,” said Bennett, who confirmed that Pacquiao filled out the form himself and clearly understood the questions.
As far as Mayweather is concerned, the injury didn’t impact the fight at all.
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