Manny Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach told ESPN's NYFightBlog that he strongly suspects that Pacquiao wants to fight Floyd Mayweather, delivering to fans the mega bout they've been wanting to see.

In a phone interview early Wednesday with ESPN, Roach said he is as eager as most boxing fans are to see it, too.

The Mayweather fight is the one the whole world wants to see, everywhere I go fans tell me that, Roach said. For me, Mayweather is

the number one choice to fight next.

Roach also said during the interview that he would try to get a hold of Pacquiao later in the day to ask him who he wants to fight next.

I'm trying to get hold of Manny, to get his feelings on it, Roach said. If the choice is $30 million to fight Marquez or Mayweather for $100 million in the biggest fight of all time, I'm sure he'd go for Mayweather.

However, Leonard Ellerbe, one of Mayweather's advisers, and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer both told ESPN that they were notified via e-mail Monday that Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank was not interested in negotiating a date for Pacquiao, who is coming off a controversial victory against Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday, to fight Mayweather. The e-mail came from retired federal Judge Daniel Weinstein, the mediator who has worked closely with the Pacquiao and Mayweather camps to settle numerous lawsuits and issues in recent years.

Schaefer said Weinstein also informed him and Ellerbe in the e-mail that Top Rank isn't interested in immediate talks for a possible Mayweather-Pacquiao fight and will instead be pursuing a rematch between Pacquiao and Marquez, which would be the fourth between the two.

Mayweather's camp--and Mayweather himself--have indicated they want to take on Pacquiao, and have targeted May 5 as the day to do it.

Nevertheless, Roach said that he is confident that Arum will deliver the fight that fans, and supposedly Pacquiao, desires.

I understand that the fans don't always get the fights they want, and that there are often good behind-the-scenes reasons for that, reasons fans and even nosy media are not aware of, Roach said. I accept that. But sometimes the powers that be need to listen to the majority, listen to the customers, and move heaven and earth to make the fight the customers desire. If that means swallowing some pride, or leaving some money on the table, or doing business with people you find loathsome, so be it.

Boxing