Pro boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. said he remains open to the possibility of fighting Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao following his fight with welterweight champion Victor Ortiz scheduled for Sept. 17 at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas.
It was the first time Mayweather has talked publicly about Pacquaio in nearly a year. Both boxers, perhaps the biggest current stars in boxing, have attempted for two years to negotiate terms for what many boxing fans call “the fight of the century.”
But Mayweather told ESPN he definitely wants to fight Pacquiao, if Pacquiao will comply with Mayweather’s demands for random drug testing.
Pacquiao filed a defamation complaint law suit against Mayweather in 2009, claiming Mayweather falsely accused him of using steroids. Mayweather denied that claim in his recent interview with ESPN.
“I’ve never said that Manny Pacquiao was taking steroids, I never said he was taking enhancement drugs,” said Mayweather. According to the Associated Press, Mayweather failed to appear in court in Las Vegas earlier this month for a hearing involving the defamation suit.
“Things happen, and Manny Pacquaio has a right to do what he wants,” Mayweather said. “If he wants to sue, he’s entitled to do that… I’m just waiting on him to step up to the plate and take the test so we can fight.”
Mayweather required his last opponent, Shane Mosley, to take random drug testing similar to that requird for Olympic boxing. He told ESPN that the contract for his September fight with Ortiz requires random blood testing, as well.
“It’s not just Pacquiao, its sports, period,” Mayweather said. “If you look at sports in the Olympics, they’re cheating. Everyone is cheating. And I never once said Manny Pacquiao was cheating, only thing I said was this: Me and any other opponent I face must take the test.”
Mayweather also responded to questions about the legal troubles he’s currently facing, including felony charges stemming from a domestic violence incident last year involving the mother of his children. He also faces a lawsuit for assault and battery for allegedly calling his bodyguards to rough up a 21-year-old man outside of a Las Vegas casino resort in 2010.
“When you’re young, Black and rich, you go through things in life,” Mayweather said, according to the AP. “But I’m a strong individual. I can survive through anything.”