Floyd Mayweather has changed his mind regarding a 2016 rematch with Manny Pacquiao, calling his rival a “coward” and “sore loser” for blaming his shoulder tear as the reason for his defeat last Saturday.
Speaking to Jim Gray in an exclusive Showtime interview scheduled to air Saturday, Mayweather explained the change of heart just days after telling ESPN reporter Stephen A. Smith he would rematch Pacquiao next year after his shoulder healed.
“Did I text Stephen A. Smith and say I will fight him again? Yeah, but I changed my mind,” said Mayweather. “At this particular time, no, because he’s a sore loser and he’s a coward… If you lost, accept the loss and say, ‘Mayweather, you were the better fighter.'”
Mayweather defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision and held the eight-division title-holder to a 12-round championship career-low of 81 punches landed. In the post-fight press conference, Pacquiao stated he went into the fight with shoulder complications that were aggravated in the third round, hampering his ability to establish a high punch output.
Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach have claimed Mayweather had a “mole” in their camp and used clinching and arm-pulling to exacerbate the injury.
“I’m not going to buy into the bullshit and I don’t want the public to buy into the bullshit,” Mayweather countered. “He lost. He knows he lost. I lost a lot of respect for him after all of this.
He was fast. His left hand was fast. His right hand was fast and he was throwing them both fast and strong. Excuses, excuses.”
The Showtime interview is scheduled to air on Saturday at 9 p.m.
