WBO welterweight title holder Manny Pacquiao has hit out at Floyd Mayweather Jr once more, saying that he does not believe the American was ready to fight him.
WBO welterweight title holder Manny Pacquiao has hit out at Floyd Mayweather Jr once more, saying that he does not believe the American was ready to fight him.
The duo had been scheduled to face off on March 13 in what was set to be one of the most eagerly-awaited fights of all time between the two best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. But it ended up not coming about after negotiations collapsed due to Pacquiao refusing Mayweather's demands for Olympic-style dope testing procedures ahead of the bout.
Pacquiao has since filed a lawsuit against Mayweather, his father Floyd Sr, his uncle Roger and Golden Boy Promotions for falsely accusing him of using performance-enhancing drugs - and says the Mayweather camp is just deflecting attention away from the fact that the giant fighter was not ready to take on the gifted Filipino.
"I believe Floyd Mayweather was not ready to fight me," Pacquiao was quoted as saying by Reuters.
"That's why he makes some reasons to cancel the fight.
"I feel bad that he is accusing me of doing drugs, that he tries to ruin my name in boxing. I'm disappointed for what he's accusing me of but I'm not angry at him. That's his style."
Pacquiao will instead now face Ghanaian Joshua Clottey in Dallas on March 13 and while he is not the opponent he was wanting to take on, he will not be taking anything for granted.
"Joshua Clottey is taller and bigger than me," Pacquiao told reporters.
"He is a former (IBF) champion. I cannot underestimate him."