Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach is not closing the door on the potential record-breaking showdown between Manny Pacquiao and reigning pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr.

In an interview with ABS-CBN News, Roach said that Mayweather and Pacquiao will finally collide if Pacquiao will have an impressive comeback fight against Brandon Rios in their scheduled bout on Nov. 23rd in Macau, pointing out that both fighters are running out of big-name opponents.

"Every big fight that was supposed to happen in boxing happens somewhere along the way, I just hope this one isn't going to happen too late when they're both washed up and not the same. Then they're just doing it for the money, anyway," Roach said.

While many will disagree with his assessment, the veteran trainer believes that Pacquiao is still on the same level as Mayweather despite the fact that the former Filipino welterweight champion is coming off a devastating knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.

"I still have hope. Mayweather's in the same position Pacquiao is. You've only got eight fighters in the world that can sell on pay-per-view and make money. That's why I give it a shot," Roach said.

Pacquiao, on the other hand, is determined to prove his doubters wrong. The 34-year-old pride of General Santos City in the Philippines was once considered as the best boxer in the world, but his defeats at the hands of Timothy Bradley and Marquez hurt his stock.

With Rios threatening to end the career of Pacquiao, the former pound-for-pound king vowed to be at his best on Nov. 23, saying that the Rios bout is one of the most important fights of his career.

"It's one of the most important fights of my career because I want to show my fans and the world that I can still compete at a high level with elite boxers," Pacquiao said in an AFP interview via Yahoo! Sports.