Mayweather Sr. picks Pacquiao over Margarito

MANILA, Philippines – The father of Floyd Mayweather, Jr. said that the upcoming fight between Antonio Margarito and Manny Pacquiao is a good match-up, but for reasons of his own.

“In my honest opinion, they can both fight each other because they’re both, to me in my mind, crooks. So they can fight each other and beat each other up all they want to because one is no better than the other one,” Floyd Mayweather, Sr. said in an interview with On The Ropes Boxing Radio as quoted by The Mushroom Mag.

“Everybody’s doing something dirty. That’s what I feel and believe. To me, in my opinion, one is no dirtier than the other one. So it’s a good fight. Whoever wins is going to win,” added the elder Mayweather.

He and his son have alleged that Pacquiao is taking performance-drugs, a claim that the 7-division world champion denied.

Margarito was suspended by the California State Athletic Commission last year after a plaster-like substance was found in his hand wraps before his bout with Shane Mosley.

But after citing the mismatch between the 5’6.6’’ Pacquiao and 5’11 Margarito, Mayweather finally gave his own prediction of the fight’s outcome.

“Whatever’s happening, I’m looking at it the way my mind tells me it is. That’s the way I’m looking at it. I’m looking at it the real way. Pacquiao is probably going to end up beating Margarito,” he stated.

Pacquiao and Margarito will face off for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) super welterweight crown at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on November 13.

The said date was originally the day set for the super showdown between Pacquiao and Floyd Jr. But negotiations for the super fight fell apart twice.

Anti-Pacquiao comments 'not racist'

Floyd Sr., meantime, took the time to defend his son from criticisms which stemmed from his racial slurs against Pacquiao.

The elder Mayweather said the phrases his son stated in a Ustream video were not meant to discriminate.

“Those are not racial statements that he made. You know, talking about what somebody eats. What’s racial about that?” he stated. “He didn’t say nothing wrong that I’ve seen, because all of this stuff is boxing talk. It’s boxing talk. What does he have to apologize for? He ain’t done nothing wrong.”

The unbeaten American fighter has said sorry for his comments. (Read: Mayweather apologizes for racist remarks)

His father added: “I haven’t seen any racial statements that he made. I just don’t like when he apologized for something that he didn’t say. You apologize when you really have done something wrong. He didn’t do nothing wrong. This stuff is boxing talk. He talks, all of them talk.”

Last Friday (Saturday in Manila), the younger Mayweather was arrested on a theft charge stemming from a domestic violence complaint filed by his former lover.

He was released on $3,000 bail and could face up to 5 years in state prison if he is convicted of taking items valued at less than $2,500.

Floyd Jr. will also reportedly get married to his current flame, according to American rapper-actor 50 Cent.

Pacquiao-Mayweather not ruled out

Despite the issues hounding the much-requested Pacquiao-Mayweather bout, Floyd Sr. still said that the fight could still push through.

“I don’t think the fight would go astray because someone said something or the other one said something. I don’t think that fight will go astray,” he commented.

He also thinks that his son will probably have a tune-up fight before the Pacquiao clash.

He then stressed that Floyd Jr. is not afraid of the boxer-turned-congressman. He also guaranteed that his son will prevail over the reigning World Boxing Organization (WBO) welterweight champion.

“I’m going to assure you that and I’m going to assure you he’s going to whop Pacquiao’s ass,” he remarked.

For Mayweather, his son’s edge over Pacquiao is defense.

“If you ain’t got no defense, defense wins fights. That’s what you win fights with, defense. That’s what you win football with, defense. That’s what you win basketball with, defense. That’s what you win checkers with, defense. There are so many other games that you play, baseball, all of those games, any game that you play, defense wins,” noted Mayweather.

“It’s not saying that you’re backing up every time you do defense, it’s just defense is the game, and that’s the game for all the games. Defense wins.”