Boxing champion Manny Pacquiao dismissed a derogatory online video posted by Floyd Mayweather Jr, calling it an “uneducated message” and choosing to instead focus on his upcoming fight with Antonio Margarito.
In the widely circulated video, Mayweather goes on an expletive-filled and sometimes racist rant against Pacquiao, the newly elected Congressman from the Philippines who faces Margarito on Nov. 13 at Cowboys Stadium near Dallas.
Mayweather said during the video, which appeared this week, that he’s on vacation “for about a year” and would easily defeat Pacquiao after that.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I just heard about that, but I didn’t see the video, but it’s an uneducated message,” Pacquiao said on Friday on the final stop of a three-city tour to promote his fight.
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 had not seen the Mayweather video.
Mayweather’s chief adviser, Leonard Ellerbe, did not return messages. His publicist, Kelly Swanson, said in an e-mail that 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 instead 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 will fight for a vacant junior middleweight title.
It is unclear when the Mayweather video was made, but it appeared online this week when Pacquiao and Margarito were in the midst of their promotional tour. After stops in Beverly Hills and New York, the media tour wrapped up on Friday 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 more fights before retiring, though he gave no indication of who the opponents might be. The seven-division champion said earlier this week that he would still face Mayweather if he accepted the fight.
Todd duBoef of promoter Top Rank said he had heard about the Mayweather video, but “probably” didn’t have any interest in seeing it. Mayweather used to be a Top Rank fighter.
DuBoef said that Pacquiao was ready to fight and not interested in waiting any longer on a bout with Mayweather.
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