Despite the fact that Floyd Mayweather was participating in a conference call to promote his upcoming September 17 clash with Victor Ortiz, certain members of the media still couldn't resist questioning him about a potential showdown with Manny Pacquiao. When asked about comments that both Pacquiao and his trainer, Freddie Roach, made earlier in the day during their own press conference to promote the November 12 showdown with Juan Manuel Marquez, Mayweather made it clear that he's tired of discussing a bout that, as far as he's concerned, is not on the near horizon. "On one note, they try to take me to the court room, right? I prefer to hold court inside the squared circle. America is the country that I live in and I'm all about being fair. And I just truly believe if you the best, take the tests," he commented, referring to the pending defamation lawsuit that Pacquiao filed against him, alleging Mayweather accused him of using performance-enhancing drugs.
"Like I said before, on one note, Freddie Roach and I guess Team Pacquiao don't want me to speak on them at all, don't want me to say anything about them at all, so I'm wondering if you at a Marquez press conference, why is Floyd Mayweather's name coming up if you feel like you're on the same level as a Floyd Mayweather? That's all I'm saying," he added, suggesting that Pacquiao, with the help of his promoter Bob Arum, has been riding the coattails of Mayweather by continuously mentioning his name and fighting opponents he's already defeated as opposed to agreeing to his request for olympic-style drug testing and facing him inside the ring. "As long as he's attached to my name, he's going to make great paydays. As long as he can keep fighting Floyd Mayweather's leftovers or fighting the fighters that's already beaten as far, I mean, the media has to really pay attention to this."
With the lawsuit still unresolved, Mayweather maintains that he's never openly accused Pacquiao of taking performance-enhancing drugs, stating, "I never accused nobody of doing anything. It's obvious that you must be hiding something. If I say I'm the best, you say you're the best, so we fighting for the best belts, we fighting for the best titles, we fighting in the best city in the world, we fighting in the best country in the world, so why not have the best testing? That's all I ask. And the thing is this, I'm not just picking on one guy. Everybody that I face has to take the tests because this sport is a little different than how it used to be. It's tainted, so that's all I'm saying."
Furthermore, although he continues to be bombarded with the same questions over and over again from members of the media who are still searching for a story, Mayweather is done talking about the potential fight, even if individuals from the other camp are not. "And once again, the guy says, 'You know, I'm sueing Floyd Mayweather for saying that I done this or done that,' but you're still attaching your name to me. Y'all still speaking on me. Y'all speaking on me, but y'all saying you don't want me speaking on you guys at all," he added. "I spoke on that situation enough. There's no need for me to even speak on it because it's useless. If the guy wanted the fight, he could've been done had the fight. Y'all know this."
Although I'm sure Mayweather will continue to be asked questions about a potential Pacquiao fight, particularly immediately after his clash with Ortiz, assuming he's victorious, perhaps we should all follow Mayweather's lead and table the discussion at least until after Manny Pacquiao's showdown with Juan Manuel Marquez.