The unbeaten U.S. boxer Floyd Mayweather will end his 16-month lay-off against the lefty Victor Ortiz this September, but still hopes to give fans a long time looking for showdown with the Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao.
Mayweather, 41-0 with 25 knockouts, will face World Boxing Council welterweight Victor Ortiz, 29-2-2 with 22 knockouts, September 17 in Las Vegas with an eye on another southpaw Pacquiao after that.
"After this fight, if I'm able to negotiate a Pacquiao fight, it could happen," Mayweather said. "(Ortiz) is a southpaw. That could lead to the Pacquiao fight. If it does or it doesn't, I'm not going to stop fighting."
Most of the fighting on the agenda for Mayweather is legal. He faces three court cases, including the cost of an incident with a former girlfriend who could make up to 34 years in prison and a defamation of Pacquiao.
Asked how the federal lawsuit could affect negotiations for a Pacquiao, Mayweather said: "I'm not sure at all."
"You go through ups and downs in life. If that's how he feels, things happen. If he wants to go to court for defamation of character, that's up to him."
Pacquiao claims his reputation was damaged when Mayweather was accused of being a drug cheat in their search for "Pac-Man" blood around the time of a fight, some of the Philippine Star has always denied, but rather that is not required by an American surveillance boxing.
"Hopefully Manny Pacquiao steps up to the plate and takes the test so we can fight," Mayweather said. "I'm waiting for the fight to happen. I'm taking one step at a time."
Ortiz and Mayweather will undergo additional blood and urine samples without the usual level before combat. Mayweather had similar rules in place before his last fight, a victory over Shane Mosley in May.
"I've been missing the sport," Mayweather said. "I'm happy to be back performing for the fans."
Mayweather said he tries to ignore legal procedures to focus on the fight against Ortiz, and that because he is a fighter that could be found guilty of incidents involving physical contact before all the facts given a jury.
"They are already saying I'm guilty with no photos or pictures of anything," Mayweather said. "I need to see some pictures and see some proof of what I have done. All of this is just hearsay.
"All I need to do is go out there and stay focused and focus on what is in that squared circle."
Mayweather, who said he played basketball, but does not work in the ring recently sitting in the shoes of champions with his invincibility, although it will be Ortiz, who holds a title when they climb into the ring .
"He's trying to dethrone me," Mayweather said. "My job is to go out there and fight like I always do."
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