LOS ANGELES, California – It was a grand entrance with high tension as Floyd Mayweather Jr. and WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz held the Los Angeles leg of their press tour for their upcoming September 17 bout.
Mayweather made it clear throughout his speech that he wants to fight the pound-for-pound king Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao after he fights Ortiz.
"We only want to fight the biggest and the best out there, and Manny Pacquiao, yes, you're next," Mayweather said.
In an earlier press conference, Mayweather had announced that he "absolutely" wanted to fight Pacquiao.
But Mayweather said that he is not looking past Ortiz.
"My ultimate goal is to take the title from Victor Ortiz. Next, we move on to Manny Pacquiao," he said.Mayweather said that he could not immediately jump into the ring against Pacquiao after a 16-month break from boxing.
"As a smart fighter, I just can't take over a year and a half off and... not get a tune-up bout. I deserve to at least get a tune-up bout."
Despite facing a series of lawsuits, one of which involves Pacquiao, Mayweather says he remains focused.
Just last week, Mayweather was accused of having his bodyguards beat up a fan in a Las Vegas parking lot for asking him when he will fight Pacquiao.
"That's not my job. That's why I chose the best legal team," Mayweather said. "The job is for my legal team to handle things inside the courtroom, and my job is to handle business once I get inside the ring."
Former sparring partner
Ortiz, the welterweight champion, is fresh off a championship win over the once unbeaten Andre Berto. He was hand-picked by Mayweather as an opponent, and says he's found Mayweather to be disrespectful for looking ahead to a match against Pacquiao.
"I'm getting kind of tired hearing he's fight Pacquiao next," Ortiz said. "No, no, no. He's fighting me next. Me, not Pacquiao."
Ortiz was once Pacquiao's sparring partner, and he has said that he would be open to fighting the Pacman after Mayweather.
"He and that whole camp are great friends to me, and I'm sure we can work something out," Ortiz said.
David Rodela, one of Pacquiao's current sparring partners, says that a match-up between Ortiz and Pacquiao would be a great fight.
"Freddie Roach told me the best sparring he's ever seen is Victor Ortiz vs Pacquiao," Rodela said. "They were going toe-to-toe. I've seen it, I still couldn't believe it. They were badass."
The fight may be between Ortiz and Mayweather, but with the Pacman's name being mentioned several times throughout the press conference, the result of this fight may have a big impact on who Pacquiao will face after his November match-up against Juan Manuel Marquez.
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