Floyd Mayweather Jr. Confused: Says He Never Claimed Pacquiao Would Be Next

"I never said [Pacquiao would be next] at all. So please, don't put words in my mouth," Mayweather said. "Nothing is a precursor." ESPN 

Have I misheard or misunderstood Floyd when he mentioned the complete opposite a few times last week? As far as I can remember, Mayweather Jr. brought up Pacquiao’s name numerous times since his announcement of the Ortiz fight, always claiming that Pacquiao would be next after Ortiz. 

One of the main reasons Floyd kept his potential bout with Pacquiao at bay, was due to Pacquiao’s refusal to go through the extensive blood testing for illegal substances. According to a recent interview with Pacquiao, this is no longer an issue: “Mayweather chose Vargas as his opponent because he is a southpaw. I think he is preparing for our battle next year.”

When asked about the blood testing, Pacquiao replied: “There is no more issue about that.” According to Pacquiao, testing is no longer a concern, it’s the financial agreements that need to be ironed out, and then he will be good to go. 

Mayweather Jr. also went on to mention that Amir Khan can have a piece of him as well, provided he goes through someone else first: “You've got one guy from the U.K. by the name of Amir Khan. I've told him he can fight Floyd Mayweather, but he must go through Jessie Vargas first.” 

So who do we believe? Has the testing issue really been resolved, or is Pacquiao pulling our chains? 

I guess we will not find out until late this year or early next year, when both fighters are all done with their upcoming challenges, and the road is clearly paved for their fight to come to fruition.