By Chris Williams: Freddie Roach, the trainer for Manny Pacquiao, says that unless Floyd Mayweather Jr fights Pacquiao, he will ruin his boxing legacy. Roach thinks that Mayweather will have an asterisk next to his name if he chooses to retire without fighting his guy Pacquiao.
Roach admits that the reason why Mayweather and Pacquiao didn’t fight when they attempted to negotiate a fight in 2009 was because Pacquiao couldn’t agree on the blood testing that Mayweather wanted for the fight.
Roach says that was their fault. However, Roach blames Mayweather for the two of them not fighting since then even though Mayweather offered Pacquiao $40 million to fight him in 2012 and was turned down.
“I think he’s [Mayweather] a little afraid to take a challenge like Manny because he’s so in love with that zero on his record,” Roach said on Jim Lampley’s Fight Game. “The thing is in boxing you have to fight the best. If he retires without fighting Manny then there will be an asterisk next to his name because he didn’t fight Manny Pacquiao. I think that will ruin his legacy. He picks his own opponents. He fought the same guy [Marcos Maidana]. Why in the world did they do the second one,” Roach said.
I don’t know that Mayweather’s legacy will be hurt one bit if he retires without fighting Pacquiao. It’s not as if Mayweather hasn’t attempted to make fights with Pacquiao. There’s been two attempts by Mayweather to fight Pacquiao, and it wasn’t Mayweather who turned down that fight.
Mayweather is now interested in fighting Pacquiao on May 2nd, yet Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum is saying that May 2nd is a fight date that should be for the Mexican people and for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. That’s not Mayweather holding up the Pacquiao fight. He’s saying he wants to fight Pacquiao on May 2nd.
Mayweather has been fighting the better opposition than Pacquiao recently, and he’s arguably faced the better opposition throughout his career compared to Pacquiao. In Mayweather’s last five fights he’s beaten Miguel Cotto, Robert Guerrero, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Marcos Maidana [twice]. In Pacquiao’s last five fights, he’s faced Tim Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez, Brandon Rios, Bradley and Chris Algieri.
I think it’s pretty clear that Mayweather has fought the better opposition. If Pacquiao doesn’t fight Mayweather on May 2nd, then we’re likely going to see Pacquiao fight Jessie Vargas. Mayweather will likely face Amir Khan or perhaps Danny Garcia. Mayweather will very likely face a better fighter than Pacquiao.
As much as Roach thinks that Mayweather will have an asterisk next to his name in the minds of some boxing fans, I don’t see that as being the case. If fans know that he was the one trying to make the fights happen with Pacquiao with him getting turned down each time he made a serious attempt, I don’t think Mayweather will get any blame at all for not facing the Filipino fighter.
There’s nothing Mayweather can do if Pacquiao’s promoter is saying no to letting him fight Mayweather on May 2nd. That’s not Mayweather’s fault.
“Manny has no problems with blood testing,” Roach said. “We have to fight the perfect fight to win this fight, be a little meaner and more feisty. I think we’ve waited long enough.”
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