Manny not ready for Floyd?

MANILA, Philippines - Floyd Mayweather Sr. said the other day Manny Pacquiao looked impressive in beating Brandon Rios in Macau because BamBam had nothing to show and dared the Filipino icon to face either Robert (The Ghost) Guerrero or Saul (Canelo) Alvarez before calling out his son to a duel.

Mayweather Jr. beat both Guerrero and Alvarez on points this year. His next opponent is likely to be Amir Khan on May 3. With Pacquiao’s masterful win over Rios last Sunday morning, he has resurrected his career and talk of an ultimate showdown with Mayweather Jr. is once more in the air.

But Mayweather Sr., who trains his son, said Pacquiao isn’t ready for the world’s No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter. “He ain’t ready now and he wasn’t ready when he was doing his thing,” said Mayweather Sr, in a video provided to The Star by Guerrero’s publicist Mario Serrano. “Manny won’t give Floyd a challenge. That fight against Rios was a comedy. The way Rios was running his mouth, I thought he could fight. I didn’t see no skill, no knowledge of boxing. Manny looked very, very good on him, he did what he wanted to do and Manny was doing everything, getting side angles and all that. Rios didn’t win a round, it was a total shutout.”

Asked by fighter J’Leon Love if he thought the knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez had an effect on Pacquiao in the Rios fight, Mayweather Sr. said it wasn’t evident. “Not possible with that guy Rios, maybe against somebody else, the effect would show,” he replied. “Manny was looking like Floyd when Floyd beat Alvarez and Guerrero. Rios didn’t hit Manny with anything. Manny was slipping just like Floyd. Manny did good with Rios but to me, Rios can’t fight.”

Mayweather Sr. said his son will do to Pacquiao what the Filipino did to Rios if ever they clash. “The Rios fight was a comedy,” he said. “Manny should go fight Alvarez or Guerrero, whip one of them then maybe it’s time to get it on. That’s what he better do. He’d better whip one of them first before coming to Floyd. One thing for sure, he can’t beat Floyd.”

Despite Pacquiao’s lopsided victory over Rios, he didn’t move up in the pound-for-pound ratings released by The Ring Magazine this week. Mayweather Jr. remained at the top of the ladder with supermiddleweight Andre Ward next, WBO welterweight champion Timothy Bradley at No. 3, heavyweight Wladimir Klitschko at No. 4, middleweight Sergio Martinez at No. 5, Marquez at No. 6 and Pacquiao at No. 7. WBA welterweight titlist Adrien Broner was ranked No. 8, Alvarez No. 9 and superbantamweight Guillermo Rigondeaux No. 10.

Among the top 10, Pacquiao has been on the pound-for-pound ratings the longest at 513 weeks. Marquez was listed for 338 weeks and Mayweather Jr., 106. Bradley rose to No. 3 after defeating Marquez last month. The unbeaten fighter previously beat Ruslan Provodnikov of Russia.

Guerrero, 30, is a southpaw like Pacquiao and has a 31-2-1 record, with 18 KOs. He is a former IBF featherweight and superfeatherweight champion. His only losses were decisions to Gamaliel Diaz, later reversed via a knockout, and Mayweather Jr. Two of his victims were Andre Berto and Michael Katsidis. Nicknamed The Ghost because of his now-you-see-me-now-you-don’t style, Guerrero isn’t known to be a big puncher at welterweight. His last six outings went the distance.

Alvarez, 23, campaigns in the superwelterweight division and may be too heavy for Pacquiao. Besides, the Mexican is booked to battle Pacquiao’s new stablemate Miguel Cotto on March 8 in Las Vegas. Alvarez has a 42-1-1 record, with 30 KOs, and his only setback was to Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao will probably try to regain the WBO welterweight crown by taking on Bradley in April. A win will bring Pacquiao close to a dream match against Mayweather Jr, whether Floyd Sr. likes it or not.