Pacquiao, Roach still want fight with Mayweather

In an interview with Graham Bensinger at Yahoo! Sports, Manny Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach discussed their November 22 fight with Chris Algieri, the potential (well, not really) Floyd Mayweather clash, and more.

Roach tried to antagonize the Mayweather situation as usual, saying he thinks Floyd's legs are shot and that he's afraid of the fight:

Roach: "Floyd's a good fighter. He was a good fighter. I think his legs are shot right now. He can't move anymore and that is why his stances have changed right now. It's not to please the audience like he says and he's not pleasing the audience. The last time I went to one of his fights I fell asleep, so I think he is boring and I think Manny will kick his ass."

Bensinger: "What do you think the likelihood is of the fight happening?"

Roach: "I'm not the most optimistic person in the world. I think he's scared of Manny Pacquiao and I think he's gonna keep running."

Pacquiao also assumed his usual role, a bit more diplomatic, saying he just wants the fight:

Bensinger: "How much do you think the sport of boxing his hurt by Floyd not fighting you?"

Pacquiao: "I think it's more hurt for the fans of boxing - the fans that really want to see that fight. I've been waiting for that so many years - to make that fight happen. It's up to him. We're not closing our door. I'm not closing my door to fight with him. As long as I'm still in boxing and he's still in boxing, there is still a possibility for - to make the fight happen."

Bensinger: "Why do you think it hasn't happened?"

Pacquiao: "That question is not for me; it's for Floyd. Because I agree [with] whatever he wants just to make the fight happen."

Algieri (20-0, 8 KO) is a pretty big underdog against Pacquiao (56-6-2, 38 KO), but Roach does concede that Algieri has some advantages in the matchup, including his height and the fact that he might not stand still:

Roach: "Chris Algeri, he will gives us a little bit of a problem, he's tall and he's got a good left hand and similar to the Oscar De La Hoya type of style, and we took care of that no problem. I don't think Algeri is better than Oscar and we will take care of it and that is why all the sparring partners are very tall."

Bensinger: "What do you think will be the biggest challenge of the fight?"

Roach: "Just trying to get this guy to exchange a little bit...make him try not to run and try to make this an exciting fight and the thing is Pacquiao knows how to do that and work on cutting the ring off and setting traps."

Pacquiao, 35, is famous for giving away a lot of his money, and is known for forgiving those on his team who have stolen from him. He was also asked about that:

Bensinger: "How concerned at all are you that you spend too much money trying to help people out?"

Pacquiao: "If I see people poor and need help - need money for food, how can I - how can I turn back from that?"

Bensinger: "You've caught people before on your team stealing from you and then forgiven them and still allowed them to be part of your team. Why allow that?"

Pacquiao: "I allow that because I want to teach them. I want to teach them, who am I to judge them? Who am I to, you know, persecute them? I just teach them how to - you know - that's not good. If you want to be blessed by God, you have to do in the right way, not like that."

Again, check out the full interview at Yahoo! Sports.