Floyd "Money Man" Mayweather Jr. is avoiding Manny Pacquiao. This is the statement of sports journalist Stephen Smith in a recent interview with ESPN.

The veteran journalist noted that Amir Khan will not be a good opponent for the undefeated American fighter as he said Pacquiao remains his most viable foe.

"If Floyd avoids this fight, and he fights Miguel Cotto or Canelo Alvarez, I have no problem, but if he avoids this fight and takes on Amir Khan, I will come on national television and I will acknowledge to you that Floyd 'Money' Mayweather is avoiding Manny Pacquiao," he added.

Aside from this statement, Smith has also earlier accused Mayweather of avoiding a Pacquiao fight before his retirement scheduled next year.

To answer Smith's remarks, Examiner said that Mayweather "confronted" the comments thrown at him saying that the journalist is just a "yes man."

The boxer was certainly not happy with the criticisms as Complex said that Mayweather doesn't care about what Smith said and what he would say in the future.

"I ain't never seen Stephen A. Smith dribble a basketball, catch a football, or box, so I can give two flying f**ks what Stephen A. Smith say. Quote me on that! I repeat, I don't give a f**k what Stephen A. Smith gotta say...He's just a critic. Critics got an opinion, like everybody else," Mayweather said.

He also advised Smith to stop acting like a genius when it comes to sports because "we ain't never seen them doing nothing but criticize athletes." Mayweather explained that he is also a smart fighter and he will not heed what other people will say about his decisions.

Of course, Smith did not let this pass and noted that he will continue criticizing Mayweather if he still refuses to seal a deal with Pacquiao's camp. He also made clear that his communication lines are very open should the American fighter have any problem with his statements.

"It's not going to change my respect for his greatness as a boxer. I said what I said and I mean what I mean: WE WANT Pacman!. That is the fight we all care about....not Amir Khan. If that's gonna get me cussed out, I'll be getting cussed out for years because I'm going to keep saying it," he posted on his Twitter page.

The fearless tirades of the journalist received positive feedback from fans who really want to witness the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight by next year.

The boxing world is eager to see what this mounting pressure can do to Mayweather's future plans and if it can indeed influence him to seal a fight with Pacquiao in the coming months.