MANILA, Philippines - Floyd Mayweather Jr. stood an inch away from Miguel Cotto in San Juan, Puerto Rico yesterday to formally announce their May 5 showdown in Las Vegas.
But instead of sticking his nose against his next opponent, Mayweather took swipes at Antonio Margarito and who else but Manny Pacquiao.
To help drum up his next fight, Mayweather branded Margarito and Pacquiao as cheaters.
“Mayweather is not a cheater like Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao,” the undefeated Mayweather was quoted by the press as saying.
Margarito and Pacquiao dealt Cotto the only setbacks of his career. Mayweather insisted that those victories should come with question marks.
Margarito knocked Cotto out in the 11th round in 2008 while Pacquiao stopped the heavy-handed Puerto Rican in the 12th round in 2009.
But Margarito was caught with illegal handwraps in his succeeding bout against Shane Mosley, and suddenly doubts were placed over his previous wins.
Margarito and Cotto figured in a rematch last December, and the latter was in his old deadly form in scoring a 10th round stoppage, and thus earned the date with Mayweather.
Mayweather has accused Pacquiao of taking performance-enhancing drugs.
In San Juan, during the press conference, Mayweather said it all boils down to hard work, and not with illegal plasters or PEDs.
“It takes hard work, dedication, prayers, belief, and a good team, hard work, hard work, hard work,” said Mayweather, who claims to be the greatest of them all.
The fight against Cotto will be Mayweather’s first since September last year when he knocked out Victor Ortiz with two solid blows when his opponent was not looking.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, is locked up against another undefeated American, Tim Bradley, on June 9 also at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao said he doesn’t really care what Mayweather says, following another failed attempt to make the fight between the two superstars happen.
“I will just continue praying for him,” said Pacquiao.