Freddie Roach calls Floyd Mayweather a PUSSY!!!!

Manny Pacquiao accepts Floyd Mayweather’s latest challenge

MANILA — Manny Pacquiao on Thursday accepted US rival Floyd Mayweather’s provocative challenge for a showdown of the world’s top pound-for-pound boxers, though sticking points to the mega fight remain.

The unbeaten Mayweather dared the Philippine icon this week on Twitter to “Step up Punk”, attempting to entice Pacquiao into a May 5 bout in Las Vegas, a fight that boxing fans have wanted to see for years.

Mayweather and Pacquiao, 33, previously saw a fight derailed by the US fighter’s demands about blood testing, with both boxers accusing the other of running scared.

“I want to fight him. This is the fight the world wants,” Pacquiao declared at a news conference in the Philippines with his US promoter Bob Arum.

Pacquiao, 54-3 with two draws and 38 knockouts, said if the 34-year-old Mayweather, 42-0 with 26 knockouts, can find a promoter who would give him a guaranteed purse, the fight would be on.

Arum said he favours a showdown in late May and previously told the Los Angeles Times he could secure $40 million more with the construction of a temporary venue in Las Vegas before more than twice as many spectators.

“Mayweather wants a guaranteed purse so what he has to do is get a promoter who can give him the guarantee,” Pacquiao said. “I don’t have problems getting a guarantee because I have a promoter who will give me my guaranteed purse.”

“If he gets a guarantee, then we are going to share the revenue on a 50-50 basis,” Pacquiao added, referring to the money raised from pay-per-view television, gate and broadcast rights.

Arum added: “There is no problem on our part — the problem is on Mayweather’s.

“Mayweather needs somebody on his side that’s going to guarantee his purse. Mayweather has nobody on his side and GBP (Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions) is not going to guarantee his purse.”

Arum insisted that if there was to be no fight in late May against the American then he would move forward with a Pacquiao clash on June 9 against someone else.

He listed a re-match against Mexico’s Juan Manuel Marquez or Puerto Rican southpaw Miguel Cotto, as well as Americans Tim Bradley and Lamont Peterson, as potential alternatives.

Arum had originally said that Mayweather was not on Pacquiao’s hit-list.

Pacquiao, a southpaw, won a majority decision over Marquez in November to keep his World Boxing Organisation welterweight title.

Mayweather, who turns 35 next month, won the World Boxing Council welterweight title with a fourth-round knockout of compatriot Victor Ortiz.

But he is currently awaiting the June 1 start of a 90-day jail sentence on domestic violence charges, further complicating things.

# Manny Pacquiao

# Floyd Mayweather

Mayweather to Pacquiao: “Step up punk”

(AP)

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has taken his quest for a fight with Manny Pacquiao to Twitter.

The unbeaten Mayweather publicly challenged and taunted the Filipino superstar on Tuesday, daring Pacquiao to meet him May 5 in Las Vegas.

“Manny Pacquiao I’m calling you out let’s fight May 5th and give the world what they want to see,” Mayweather tweeted.

Moments later, Mayweather tweeted: “My Jail Sentence was pushed back because the date was locked in. Step up Punk.”

Mayweather is available for a fight in May at the MGM Grand Garden after a judge agreed last week to postpone his jail sentence in a domestic violence case until June. Mayweather was sentenced to 87 days in jail, but likely will serve less time.

Mayweather and Pacquiao are boxing’s top two stars, and they have circled each other warily for more than two years. Both have said they’re eager to fight, yet still haven’t reached a deal for what’s likely to be the most lucrative bout in boxing history.

While Pacquiao appeared to be more eager for the fight when the two first began verbally sparring in 2009, Mayweather has taken the lead in recent months, stepping up his campaign since Pacquiao’s narrow win over Juan Manuel Marquez last November.

Mayweather’s tweets appear to put the megafight’s future in Pacquiao’s hands — and a decision likely will be made soon.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum traveled to the Philippines this week to meet with Pacquiao, planning to choose the eight-division champion’s next opponent. Arum, who has repeatedly said Mayweather won’t actually agree to fight Pacquiao because he fears losing, has a list of candidates including Marquez, Miguel Cotto, Lamont Peterson and Timothy Bradley Jr. for Pacquiao’s next bout.

Arum also has suggested Pacquiao might not be ready to prepare for a fight in May because of a facial cut from his win over Marquez. Mayweather’s camp has dismissed that notion as subterfuge, saying cuts rarely require several months to heal.

Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, whose company has promoted Mayweather’s last five fights, has suggested Mayweather’s Cinco de Mayo fight could be against popular 154-pound Mexican champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez or lightweight champion Robert Guerrero, a Mexican-American from the Bay Area, if he can’t make a deal with Pacquiao.

But if Mayweather and Pacquiao intend to make their long-awaited fight, both sides know they must do it quickly, since a promotion of that size would require several months of preparation.

Mayweather controls his own Twitter feed, which is often filled with pictures of his fiancDee and braggadocio about his gambling exploits. On Monday night, he tweeted a photo of a betting slip, claiming he won $400,000 on the BCS title game.