“I just heard about that, but I didn’t see the video,’’ Pacquiao said yesterday at the final stop of a tour to promote his fight. “But it’s an uneducated message.’’
Mayweather, at times interacting with fans by phone on the video, claims Pacquiao “can’t speak no English’’ and has “never seen a contract he didn’t like.’’ There are also suggestions that the Filipino sensation has used performance-enhancing drugs, assertions raised previously by the Mayweather camp that resulted in a defamation lawsuit that is still pending.
“It’s a really cheap low blow, but again, consider where it came from,’’ said Freddie Roach, Pacquiao’s trainer. “We tried to fight him. He said no. He doesn’t want to fight.’’
Roach said he hadn’t seen the Mayweather video.
Mayweather’s chief adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, did not return messages. His publicist, Kelly Swanson, said in an e-mail she had seen the video but had not been in touch with Mayweather or Ellerbe and couldn’t comment.
Fans have been calling for Mayweather to fight Pacquiao, but negotiations have repeatedly broken down for what could have been the richest fight in boxing history.
When a deal wasn’t reached in January, Pacquiao fought Joshua Clottey, defeating him in March at Cowboys Stadium. When negotiations broke down again this summer, Pacquiao turned his attention to Margarito, whom he’ll fight for a vacant junior middleweight title.
It is unclear when the Mayweather video was made, but it appeared online as Pacquiao and Margarito were in the midst of their promotional tour. After stops in Beverly Hills and New York, the media tour wrapped up yesterday at Cowboys Stadium — in an end zone plaza instead of on the field, which was being prepared for a college football game.
When asked about the possibility of a Mayweather bout, Pacquiao responded: “I’m not looking for that fight. I’m satisfied with what I’ve done in boxing already.’’
Pacquiao said he’s only planning a couple of more fights before retiring, though he gave no indication of who the opponents might be. The seven-division champion said this week he would still face Mayweather if he accepted the fight.
