Manny Pacquiao slams Floyd Mayweather but praises Canelo Alvarez

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By Tom Ward

Published Aug 17, 2021

Manny Pacquiao took a swipe at Floyd Mayweather ahead of his fight against Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas on Saturday night.

Manny Pacquiao has claimed Guillermo Rigondeaux ran away from John Riel Casimero just like Floyd Mayweather 'didn't want to fight' him in May 2015.

The Filipino superstar is due to fight short-notice replacement Yordenis Ugas on August 21 in his comeback fight, almost a week after his fellow countryman edged a razor-tight split decision against Rigondeaux in his most recent outing.

Speaking to boxing reporter Elie Seckbach, Pacquiao explained his main takeaways from that bout, referencing the fact that Mayweather also had an extremely low output during their super-fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

"Yeah I'm happy, I'm glad he retained his belt, but the thing is his opponent didn't want to fight him, it's like Manny Pacquiao and Mayweather," he told ESNews.

Former eight-time world champion Pacquiao, who thrust himself into the spotlight with his coming-of-age victory over all-time great Marco Antonio Barrera, looked set for a hotly-anticipated clash with WBC and IBF champion Errol Spence Jr this summer.

But the bout was cancelled after the American fighter was forced to withdraw due to an eye injury.

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Pacquiao, 42, still hopes to fight Spence Jr at some point but is keen to take things 'one at a time' given the Filipino senator is now preparing for Ugas and says he needs to focus on the underrated Cuban.

"He's good, I cannot underestimate him, it's going to be a good fight. I'm looking forward to fighting him," he added.

"I don't have a prediction but I will do my best to keep my fans satisfied with the fight.

"One at a time, anybody I can fight, if it can happen, it can happen."