Manny Pacquiao Willing to Fight Mayweather, Take Drug Test
Manny Pacquiao says he's ready to put to rest accusations from fellow boxer Floyd Mayweather that he has been cheating in the ring and dodging a coveted fight between the pair for years.
Pacquiao, 33-year-old Filipino congressman, recently opened up to ESPN magazine about his desire to fight Mayweather in 2013 after years of rumors and failed negotiations.
"I hope that fight will happen by next year...I'm 100 percent willing to fight him," Pacquiao told ESPN. "I already announced that on ESPN. I can agree with the sharing 45/55 for him. Whatever he wants – the drug testing, he can suggest the rules and regulations. It's up to him."
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The Christian pugilist said he was praying for Mayweather who was released from a Las Vegas jail last summer stemming from domestic violence charges.
"I have no comment about him. But I'm praying for him that he will find a way of life," Pacquiao said. "Because our life here in this world is temporary."
While Pacquiao filed a defamation lawsuit against Mayweather in 2009 stemming from accusations that he had dabbled in drug use while climbing up the ranks in the boxing world, it seems both men are ready to move on from the situation. Pacquiao insisted that he is not angry at the 35-year-old undefeated fighter who he has yet to face in the ring.
"I'm not angry at him. I like Floyd," Pacquiao told ESPN. "This is my brother. In God, in Christ Jesus."
Last September, The Los Angeles Times reported that Mayweather and his camp released a statement saying that his father and uncle who also serves as the boxer's trainer "wish to make it clear that they never intended to claim that Manny Pacquiao has used or is using any performance-enhancing drugs."
In fact, the statement released from Mayweather's team chose to name Pacquiao as a great champion.
"Manny Pacquiao is a great champion and no one should construe any of our prior remarks as claiming that Manny Pacquiao has used performance-enhancing drugs," Mayweather's camp said in a previous Los Angeles Times report.
Although the two fighters seem to have made peace outside of the boxing ring, Pacquiao admits that he is unsure of whether Mayweather would actually agree to fight him.
"It's hard to judge, but we'll see," Pacquiao told ESPN. "It's up to him."
