Mayweather: 'Step up punk'

Floyd Mayweather Jr. is at it again.

The outspoken WBC welterweight champion took to Twitter on Tuesday to issue a challenge to a fellow superstar in an attempt to set up a super fight before he is schedule to serve 90 days in jail in the summer.

“Manny Pacquiao I'm calling you out let's fight May 5th and give the world what they want to see,” Mayweather tweeted to his 2.1 million followers.

“My Jail Sentence was pushed back because the date was locked in,” Mayweather added. “Step up Punk.”

In December, Mayweather pleaded guilty to a reduced battery domestic violence charge and no contest to two harassment charges.

On Friday, a judge agreed to postpone Mayweather’s jail time to allow the boxer to compete in a May 5 fight against a yet-to-be-determined opponent.

Mayweather was reportedly in talks to fight lightweight standout Robert Guerrero on that Cinco de Mayo weekend.

But with Mayweather’s recent tweets, the talk has shifted to the potential super fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao that has been discussed for several years but has never come to fruition.

In past negotiations for a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, Mayweather’s camp demanded certain strict, Olympic-style drug test requirements, leading many to believe he was dodging Pacquiao (who has never failed a drug test in his career).

Pacqiauo’s camp agreed to all types of testing, but would not agree to blood tests during the week of the fight because of the fear it could weaken the fighter. The fight was never put together.

If that fight were to one day occur, experts believe the bout would break Pay-Per-View records.

Mayweather (42-0) is coming off a fourth-round TKO win over Victor Ortiz in September. That fight generated over US$78 million in PPV revenue and was seen in 1.25 million homes.

Pacquiao (54-3-2) is on a 15-fight win streak and coming off a controversial majority decision win over Juan Manuel Marquez in November, in a bout that also garnered over one million PPV buys.

Bob Arum, Pacquiao's promoter, travelled to the Philippines this week to meet with the eight-division champion to discuss his next opponent. He has a list of candidates that includes Marquez, Miguel Cotto, Lamont Peterson and Timothy Bradley Jr., he told the Associated Press. Arum believes Mayweather won't actually agree to fight Pacquiao because he fears losing.

Arum also suggested that Pacquiao might not be ready to prepare for a fight in May because of a facial cut he got in his win over Marquez. Mayweather's camp believes Pacquiao's camp is posturing though, saying cuts rarely require several months to heal.