Floyd Mayweather Talks More About Manny Pacquiao Than Miguel Cotto in Press Tour

Unbeaten WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr. continues to attack Manny Pacquiao in his press tour to promote his upcoming fight with Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto on May 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.

In a New York press conference, Mayweather, who recently talked to Manny Pacquiao over the phone about his proposal to face the Filipino boxing star in the ring on May 5, said Pacquiao is “not one of the sharpest knives in the drawer.”

“Just by speaking to Pacquiao on the phone, I mean, he’s not one of the sharpest knives in the drawer,” Mayweather said. “He faces Floyd Mayweather, he’s not getting 50-50. Not at all. No one is getting 50-50.”

Mayweather also took a swipe at Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, saying the pound-for-pound king should first get rid of Arum in order for the most-wanted fight to finally happen. Reached for comment by the Manila Standard,  Arum said, "We have absolutely no response.” 

Comparing the Pacquiao-Bradley press tour with the highly charged Mayweather-Cotto promotional campaign, Arum observed that Mayweather talks a lot about Pacquiao in his press conferences.

“You saw how we handled Manny and Bradley; it was all about the fight," Arum said. "[The Mayweather-Cotto tour] is a joke. Mayweather is supposed to be promoting his fight with Cotto, not talking about Pacquiao.”

With regard to the "embarrassing" offers made by Mayweather, which touched on purse splits and timing of the fight, Arum said that Mayweather has no real intention of facing Pacquiao in the ring. 

“He just doesn't want to fight Manny,” the 80-year-old Hall of Fame promoter said, adding that Mayweather, who he promoted for 11 years, was an “egotistical maniac.”

During his press tour with Victor Ortiz last year, Mayweather had been widely criticized for talking more about Pacquiao than his opponent.

Ortiz even complained that he was not given due respect because Mayweather was always talking about Pacquiao instead of himself as the opponent.

In the Los Angeles segment of the tour, Ortiz confronted Mayweather and poked him in his chest as their respective teams pulled them apart.

“I’m tired of it,” said then WBC champion Ortiz, who defeated Andre Berto a few months ago. “I do feel like I’m being disrespected. Everyone keeps talking about Pacquiao.

"Mayweather keeps saying he’s going to fight Pacquiao next. No. He’s fighting me next. Me, not Pacquiao...And I’ll be damned if I let him or anyone take this belt away from me.”

Mayweather continued making references to Pacquiao, saying, “We only want to fight the biggest and the best out there, and Manny Pacquiao, yes, you’re next."

As Mayweather talks more and more about Pacquiao in his continuing media blitz to generate awareness for his next fight, he could again be criticized for leaving Cotto on the sideline, the same way he did with Ortiz.

Cotto, who has defeated three opponents since losing to Pacquiao, said the 154 limit set for the fight will favor him over the unbeaten champion. “Power is going to be on my side,” he said.

The super WBA welterweight fight will take place on May 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.