Pacquiao vs Mayweather in the offing after latter’s fight against Ortiz

Pacquiao vs Mayweather Still On?

Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather Jr., the mega-fight everyone in the boxing world dreams about but may never happen, have a good chance of pushing through after all if Mayweather takes care of his legal troubles and dispatches Victor Ortiz in September.

The Mayweather vs Ortiz fight will be held in Las Vegas in what analysts see as a prelude for Mayweather's showdown with Pacquiao. Like the Filipino champion, Ortiz is a southpaw that could give Mayweather a good challenge.

"After this fight, if I'm able to negotiate a Pacquiao fight, it could happen," Mayweather (41-0, 25 knockouts) said. Boxing fans have long wanted to Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather Jr. to settle the dispute over who is truly the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today.

But despite enormous interest, a deal for the fight has not been made with the two camps accusing each other of bungling negotiations. Mayweather has accused Pacquiao of using performance-enhancing drugs and placed a condition of stricter drug testing for Pacquiao.

Manny Pacquiao's camp meanwhile has denied that the boxer is using drugs, saying that Mayweather is just using excuses to avoid fighting Pacquiao at all cost to preserve his unblemished professional record.

"Hopefully Manny Pacquiao steps up to the plate and takes the test so we can fight," Mayweather said. "I'm waiting for the fight to happen. I'm taking one step at a time."

Mayweather said he is focused right now on beating World Boxing Council welterweight champion Ortiz who has a 29-2-2, 22 knockout-record. After that fight, then boxing fans will again clamor heavily for the Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather fight to finally happen.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Wednesday June 29 2011, 11:07 AM EST. Ref: AFP. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0