Mayweather trains for the media ahead of the Cotto fight, before exercising his mouth at the expense of Pacqui …
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are both in action over the coming weeks — so of course that conversation has cropped up for what feels like the 10,000th time.
With a step up to light-middleweight on the cards next Saturday to challenge Miguel Cotto for his WBA championship belt, Mayweather just couldn't help himself at the recent media workout ahead of the card in Las Vegas - wasting little time in goading the Filipino fighter.
"We wanted the Pacquiao fight for May 5 but it didn't happen, so there's nothing I could do," Mayweather said.
"You know, as I said before I'm always looking to give the fans what they want to see.
"I'm pretty sure Pacquiao has a tough task on his hands with the young fighter - I don't really know his name - but I've had a chance to watch him and he can box a little bit, so it's not going to be an easy task for him."
The young fighter - 28-year-old Timothy Bradley of California (28-0-0-1) - will challenge Pacquiao for the WBO welterweight crown on June 9, under the same roof as Floyd's fight five weeks prior at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Whether Mayweather's flippancy is a deliberate mind game or legitimate ignorance is up for debate; but while I appreciate that the 35-year-old feels able to dig at Pacquiao verbally having, in his mind, kept up his end of the bargain in their many failed negotiations to finally meet in the ring, perhaps it is time both men moved on.
Boxing fans are almost beginning to get used to the scenario of being denied divisional rubber fights, with the Klitschkos' dominance of the heavyweight scene while refusing to battle one another being a prime example - and as much as Floyd-Manny appeals and has done so for years, the constant stalling has become too much to bear.
Between Mayweather's move to light-middleweight and Pacquiao's status as a six-division world champion, the two are flexible enough to find fresh challenges for as long as they continue to box — and besides, that may not be long for either man, given their extra-curricular exploits of late.
Pacquiao has had plenty of his own distractions heading into his title defence against Bradley in June.
Pacquiao has had his training regimen for the Bradley battle disrupted by contempt charges over tax discrepancies, while his status as a local congressman in his home nation has seen him embroiled in the soap-opera world of politics while still an active boxer.
Mayweather, meanwhile, will finally serve a 90-day jail sentence for assaulting ex-girlfriend Josie Harris following the Cotto contest, which his legal team successfully used as grounds to hold off the punishment for the economical boost it will provide to the state of Nevada.
If Floyd's latest provocation of Manny really is an attempt to compel Freddie Roach and company to look into yet another round of negotiations between the two, one can only hope that both camps get a move on.
At the current rate, a hypothetical green light for this long-awaited meeting to see who exactly is the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet will determine no such thing, and the boxing community will have to settle for a disappointing (and yet undoubtedly money-spinning) fight between two over-the-hill competitors.
Of course, the time to really pay attention to the words of Mayweather (or Pacquiao, for that matter) will be June 10, after both the Cotto and Bradley fights. Will the third time be a charm for this collision course?
If not, they should just keep their mouths closed and let their fists do the talking - as they did to reach such heights in the first place, on two entirely different roads.
Liam Happe