Manny Pacquiao (L) from the Philippines and his trainer Freddie Roach pose during an interview at Venetian Macao in Macau August 25, 2014. Pacquiao will fight for the WBO welterweight title against Chris Algieri from the United States at the Venetian&#039
Manny Pacquiao (L) from the Philippines and his trainer Freddie Roach pose during an interview at Venetian Macao in Macau August 25, 2014. Pacquiao will fight for the WBO welterweight title against Chris Algieri from the United States at the Venetian's Cotai Arena in Macau on November 22, 2014. REUTERS/Bobby Yip REUTERS

Joe Cortez, one of the best referees in boxing in the last thirty five years claimed that Manny Pacquiao is slipping a lot more thanundefeated American boxer Floyd Mayweather in an interview with Robert Brown of On The Ropes Boxing.

According to Joe Cortez, the Filipino boxing icon will have a hard time with Chris Algieri and that he may not get through him. With his height advantage and great boxing skills, Algieri will keep Pacquiao at a distance. In the event that Pacquiao loses to Algieri, Cortez thinks the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight next year might not happen. However, if Pacquiao turns victorious, the veteran referee thinks that the mega fight will happen next year.

READ ALSO: Roach Says That PPV Rival Networks And The Promoters Can Make The Super Fight Between Pacquiao And Mayweather Happen

When asked if he thinks Floyd Mayweather is slipping a little bit, he claimed that all fighters reach an age when they tend to slip a bit, but for Mayweather, slipping is not enough to put him in the danger zone. He thinks that with the present version of Mayweather and Pacquiao, Mayweather will win by decision because the undefeated boxer still got the skills while the Filipino boxer is getting knocked out my Juan Manuel Marquez and he is slipping a lot - a lot more than Mayweather.

The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight has been long overdue. In fact, even boxing legends are pushing for the mega fight to happen. Five months ago, after the Mayweather vs. Maidana fight in May, the greatest boxer of all time Muhammad Ali took to Twitter to express his desire to make the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight to happen. He advised Floyd Mayweather to arrange a fight with Manny Pacquiao after his bout with Marcos Maidana of Argentina.

Sugar Ray Leonard also revealed that Floyd Mayweather should fight Manny Pacquiao, not for the money but for the legacy.

"They should fight," Leonard said via ESPN. "Now they're leaning more towards Mayweather. Because at first it was 'We don't know who's going to win the fight' -- like Tommy Hearns and I, like Hagler and I, like Duran and I."

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