Manny Pacquiao next fight rumors: Floyd Mayweather Jr. calls Pacquiao his hardest foe

Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.Reuters

Floyd Mayweather Jr. has been known to carry too much pride to admit when someone is better than him so perhaps asking him who gave him the toughest match in the ring could take that down a notch.

The undefeated American boxer took some time to speak to select people in Moscow, Russia recently and one question thrown at him was who he considers his toughest opponent/s.

Before that, it would be best to note that Mayweather has practically faced all the best fighters during his prime. That includes Saúl "Canelo" Alvarez, Miguel Cotto, Juan Manuel Marquez, and Manny Pacquiao.

Of that mix, Mayweather says that Alvarez, Cotto, and Pacquiao gave him the toughest challenge but when he was asked on who among the three was the toughest, Pacquiao was the boxer that came out.

Seeing how he dominated Pacquiao last May 2, that reply does seem a bit surprising. While he did outbox the Filipino fighter, it remains that had he not been armed with the talent of defending against explosive fighters, the outcome could have been different.

"Manny Pacquiao was very tough. Pacquiao is very good. He was better than I thought," said Mayweather via Boxingscene.com

Pacquiao will be fighting his last fight as well this coming April 9, 2016 with a recent report from the Mirror claiming yet again that he would be facing Timothy Bradley Jr. yet.

As for Mayweather, he stands pat on his claim of being retired. Although many refuse to buy that, a possible return to the ring could only happen with the right money on the table and, of course, the right opponent.

With Pacquiao set to retire, no other fighter right now could be lucrative or tempting enough to lure him out of retirement. Perhaps in 2016? For now, only Mayweather has the answer to that question.