Mayweather Calls Out Pacquiao on Twitter
Floyd Mayweather Jr. called rival fighter Manny Pacquiao out on Twitter Tuesday, after a judge postponed his jail surrender date in anticipation of a May fight.
“Manny Pacuiao I'm calling you out let's fight May 5 and give the world what they want to see,” Mayweather tweeted Tuesday. “My jail sentence was pushed back because the date was locked in. Step up punk.”
The comments come days after a Clark County judge gave Mayweather the opportunity to postpone his jail arrival time, due to obligations with the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Mayweather’s team booked the arena in anticipation of a May 5 Pacquiao bout.
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The pair, who have been speaking about facing each other in the ring for years, seemed to have the perfect opportunity to do so in May. In a recent interview with PhilBoxing.com, Pacquiao said he wants to fight Mayweather next.
"I've said this over and over before and I'm saying this again, I want Floyd Mayweather Jr to be my next opponent and I haven't changed my choice despite recent developments," the Filipino boxer and congressman said.
"I am meeting with my promoter, Bob Arum, and I will insist that the fight with Mayweather be given the preference. Whoever the fans want me to fight, I will face him atop the ring.”
However, Pacquiao made it clear that his promoter would have the final decision.
"[However] I don't choose the fight. It is my promoter who does because it's his job,” Pacquiao told PhilBoxing.com. “My job is to fight, everybody must realise that."
Bob Arum, Pacquiao’s promoter, recently spoke about an injury that may prevent Pacquiao from training properly and fighting in early May. During a bout with Juan Manuel Marquez, Pacquiao suffered a deep eye injury.
"I don't know that he's on schedule to start sparring until the beginning of April," Arum said. "That's one of the things we'll discuss. If it is early April, we'll have to have the fight in late May."
With Mayweather scheduled to serve his prison sentence beginning in June, the Michigan born boxer’s camp said they should have the name of his next opponent ready for fans this week.
“We'll make an announcement about who we're going to fight next week,” Mayweather’s promoter, Leonard Ellerbe said Friday. “We just came out of the ... court hearing. Give us a chance to catch our breath."
