INQUIRER Sports

HOLLYWOOD? Manny Pacquiao made his traditional post-fight visit to the Wild Card gym here Monday with Freddie Roach saying he wants the new WBO welterweight champion to take a long break before returning to this popular boxing training site for his next fight.

A fight, Roach believes, that should be against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

?I think he should rest for a while, enjoy the holidays, run (in) the elections, and then congressman Pacquiao will beat Mayweather?s ass,? the celebrated trainer said.

Roach?s comments came even as the undefeated American finally called out Pacquiao after hearing his name was all over the coliseum Saturday night, when Pacquiao made history by taking Miguel Cotto?s belt via a 12th-round technical knockout at the MGM Grand and becoming the first boxer to win titles in seven weight divisions.

Fans cheered ?We want Floyd? several times while renowned boxing commentator Larry Merchant interviewed Pacquiao on the ring after the match.

?Manny Pacquiao is the fighter and every time someone asks him if he wants to fight me, he says it is up to his promoter, he?s going to take a vacation, whatever the answer is,? Mayweather was quoted by a USA Today story as saying.

?I have yet to hear him actually say, ?Yes, I want to fight Mayweather.? We are the fighters and if one fighter is talking about fighting another fighter, then they should just come out and say it. Manny Pacquiao doesn?t say anything directly about fighting me because he might just know it?s not a fight he can win.?

The same story quoted Bob Arum, chair of Top Rank, which promotes Pacquiao, saying: ?All you have to know is that my fighter and his trainer Freddie Roach have gone on record saying they?re happy to fight Mayweather.

?Hopefully we?ll be able to put this together. The one thing I?m not going to do, and the only thing that?s going to kill this, is to negotiate through the newspapers. If that happens and egos get in the way, the fight might not happen. From our side, we?re willing.?

The Associated Press reported that Las Vegas has opened a betting line for the possible Pacquiao-Mayweather duel, with the Filipino ring icon starting out an 8-5 favorite before ?Pretty Boy? supporters wagered heavily to bring the line down to 7-5.

Pacquiao, who arrived to an appreciative applause at the gym with his right ear and hand still bandaged, has said he will leave it to Arum to negotiate for his next fight.

Roach, though, sees Mayweather as the most plausible foe, even if he believes Pacquiao will have to shoulder the burden of making the fight exciting.

?All Mayweather does is run,? Roach said. ?It will be a boring fight but a lot of people will pay tickets to see him lose. It will be less exciting than other Manny Pacquiao fights but it will be a huge fight.?

Curiously, Floyd Mayweather Sr. thinks his son shouldn?t fight Pacquiao.

?If it were up to me, I?d say no,? the older Mayweather said.

Asked for an explanation, he said: ?I have my own reasons.?

Junior, however, seemed ready for that showdown.

Fightfan.com reported that less than 36 hours after Pacquiao?s victory, Mayweather hit the gym for a torrid two-and-a-half-hour training that included mitts work and hitting the heavy and speed bags in Las Vegas.

The boxing website said that after showering, Mayweather told onlookers at the gym to come back ?after I whip Pacquiao?s ass.?

With initial pay-per-view reports due Tuesday, Top Rank and the Mayweather camp can begin talks as to how the purse will be split between the two boxers. Mayweather?s team wants a 65-35 split, something that Roach finds ridiculous.

?He made a million buys (in fighting Juan Manuel Marquez) but let?s face it: 90 percent of those buys were because of Marquez, who became popular after fighting Pacquiao,? Roach said.

?Mayweather doesn?t have a huge following. I would go 60-40 for Manny and hopefully, we could make it happen,? Roach added.