Mayweather finishes talking about Pacman
For once, Floyd Mayweather had nothing to say about Manny Pacquiao,
deflecting questions on the Filipino fight king Thursday at a news
conference to promote his fight against Miguel Cotto.
Two days after he said Pacquiao wasn't "one of the sharpest knives in
the drawer," Mayweather insisted he just wanted to talk about his super
welterweight world title fight against World Boxing Association champ
Cotto coming up on May 5.
Mayweather was also reluctant to discuss New York Knicks star Jeremy
Lin but said he had no regrets about recent tweets in which he said
rising NBA star Lin was getting "all the hype because he's Asian." "I
never regret anything," Mayweather said. "I am not here to talk about
Jeremy Lin. I am not fighting Jeremy Lin.
"It is not Mayweather versus Pacquiao or Mayweather versus Jeremy
Lin, it is Mayweather versus Miguel Cotto." Mayweather was criticized
for his Lin comments, but the 35-year-old said he doesn't plan to change
his outspoken ways.
"I thought this country had freedom of speech," he said. "Jeremy Lin
I said was a good player ... Anything Mayweather says finds the front
page of the media. I get dragged through the mud but it doesn't stop
me." Mayweather criticized Pacquiao at a news conference in New York on
Tuesday, saying Pacquiao's demands on a purse split were unreasonable.
"Just speaking to Pacquiao on the phone, I mean, he's not one of the
sharpest knives in the drawer," Mayweather said on Tuesday. "He faces
Floyd Mayweather, he's not getting 50/50. No one is getting 50/50."
Mayweather (42-0, 26 knockouts) was in negotiations with Pacquiao for a
mega-fight in May or June but talks fell through and Mayweather decided
to fight Cotto instead on May 5 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las
Vegas.
Pacquiao now plans to fight on June 9 in Las Vegas against American
Tim Bradley.
Pacquiao said last month that he called Mayweather to try and broker
a deal but felt insulted when Mayweather offered to give him a $40
million lump-sum payment if Pacquiao agreed to let Mayweather keep the
pay-per-view television earnings -- which some have estimated could be
as high as $160 million.
Mayweather and Cotto entered Thursday's news conference at historic
Grauman's Chinese Theatre to a trumpet blast.
Mayweather then took his seat on an elaborate throne, while the
champion sat in a smaller chair to his left.
Mayweather is coming off a controversial victory over Victor Ortiz in
his last fight in September. AFP |
