'Money not afraid of Manny'

Roger Mayweather stressed that undefeated champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. is not afraid of anybody, especially not against eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao and even hinted that the much-awaited mega-fight between his nephew and the Filipino boxing superstar might push through in 2013.

The elder Mayweather said, in an interview by On the Ropes Boxing Radio, that he and his nephew met with Arum last month to discuss the possibility of ending the three-year standoff between both camps and give in to the demands of fight fans to see both pound-for-pound fighters slug it out inside the ring.

“He (Mayweather Jr.) has to fight Pacquiao ‘cause that’s the fight people want to see and people talk about,” said Mayweather.

“If he wouldn’t fight Pacquiao he would go down in history as a scared mother****** champion, wouldn’t he? My nephew ain’t scared of Pacquiao.”

Mayweather added the money involved in the mega-fight will surely lure both boxers to seal the deal. “Anytime you are getting that type of money, how the hell are you not going to fight (Pacquiao).”

Purse split and the drug testing protocol were the issues that hampered the fight to push through but lately, Pacquiao changed his mind and agreed to a 55-45 split with Mayweather (43-0 with 23 knockouts) getting the bigger share and undergoing the 14-day blood testing window.

The elder Mayweather, who trains the reigning World Boxing Association (WBA) super welterweight and World Boxing Council (WBC) welterweight champion Mayweather Jr., said that the often hostile atmosphere between his ward and Top Rank founder Bob Arum was nowhere to be seen during the meeting.

The former WBA super featherweight and WBC junior welterweight champion even described the meeting as “positive” with Arum also planning to arrange a separate fight between Mayweather and reigning World Boxing Organization welterweight king Timothy Bradley, who wrested the 147-pound belt from Pacquiao (54-4-2 with 38 knockouts) in a highly-contested match early this year.

Mayweather said his nephew is willing to fight either Pacquiao or Bradley. “Floyd’s gonna fight them, why would he not fight them?”

Pacquiao, who is busy training for his fourth fight with Mexican nemesis Juan Manuel Marquez (54-6-1 with 39 knockouts) on December 8 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, said he is scheduled to fight again in April despite going on the campaign trail for running unopposed in Sarangani province’s lone congressional seat.

“Up to him (Mayweather Jr.),” Pacquiao said. “I’ve announced I’ll give him a 55-45 [purse split], no problem. What am I going to do if he doesn’t fight?”

Whether it will be Mayweather Jr. or another opponent remains to be seen. Youngster Brandon Rios is another option for Pacquiao.

Freddie Roach, if ever Pacquiao chooses to fight Rios, said the first five rounds will be a war. “It’s a good fight for the fans, and the way Manny’s fighting right now, he’d have no problem with it.”

Roach added that he and his ward have not yet talked about retirement. “We haven't talked about how many fights are left. But it goes fight by fight at this point.”