Manny Pacquiao was recently named by the World Boxing Council as the mandatory challenger to reigning welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather, but the undefeated boxing champion played down Pacquiao's status as top contender for the 147-lb title.

In an interview with Fighthype, Mayweather said that he will not be forced by WBC to defend his welterweight title, saying that Pacquiao can have the belt, while also adding that the belt doesn't define his greatness.

"Everybody's talking about the title he's (Pacquiao's) the mandatory. He can have the belt! A belt doesn't make me. A belt doesn't define Floyd Mayweather," Mayweather said.

The 36-year-old Mayweather, who has yet to name his opponent for his next fight that is tentatively scheduled for May 3 next year, recently mentioned Pacquiao as one of his possible opponents.

Mayweather questioned the selection of Pacquiao as the mandatory challenger to his title, pointing out that Pacquiao's recent victory over Brandon Rios was not enough to overshadow his defeats against Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez, who knocked Pacquiao out cold in their fourth fight in December.

"Here's the Manny Pacquiao story. Manny Pacquiao was at welterweight. He lost to Timothy Bradley, no matter how you cut it, how you slice it, he lost to Timothy Bradley. He got knocked out by Marquez. He came back and went the distance with a lightweight. And now all of a sudden, he's the mandatory for my title," Mayweather said. "But like I said before, put him in front of me, I'll beat him."

Pacquiao recently said that he is planning to meet with Mayweather in his upcoming U.S. visit to talk about a possible showdown next year.

Boxing analysts believe that if a meeting takes place later this month, Mayweather is expected to dictate the terms of the fight, particularly the fight purse, knowing that Pacquiao needs the fight badly.

Pacquiao is currently in the middle of tax woes both in the Philippines and in the U.S., while his recent fight against Rios performed lower than what was expected in terms of pay-per-view buys.