MANILA, Philippines – Seven-time world champion Manny Pacquiao is not mad but disappointed over Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s recent statement blaming him for their scuttled March 13 fight.
"I'm not angry at Floyd," Pacquiao told LATimes.com. "I just feel disappointed in his allegations."
Pacquiao is currently in the thick of preparations for his title defense against Ghanian Joshua Clottey.
The Filipino boxer said that despite the failed negotiations between his camp and Mayweather's, he still wants the fight.
Pacquiao, however, said he is not sure if the other side shares the same thought.
"I can fight him," said the boxing icon from General Santos City. "I'm just not sure he ever really wanted the fight."
His coach, Freddie Roach, also wanted the fight to finally settle who’s the better boxer between the two pound-for-pound greats.
But Roach said the only thing that stops the dream fight from becoming a reality is Mayweather’s blood-testing procedure. And this he cannot accept.
"If we had given in on the blood testing, it would have been like giving Mayweather the first round. Why would we do that?” asked the Hall of Fame trainer.
"Manny hates needles. He said that's what cost him the first [Erik] Morales fight [March 2005]. We made a mistake on that one… Manny said it made him weak for three days,” explained Roach.
Pacquiao currently holds World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight crown, which he will defend against a true welterweight in Clottey.
Roach says the Pacquiao-Clottey bout might even turn out to be better for fans than a Pacquiao vs Mayweather.
"Clottey comes forward and it could become a war," he said.
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