Manny Pacquiao following his victory over Chris Algieri this past November (Photo: Chris Farina – Top Rank)

By Chris Robinson

These days much of the talk in the boxing world is again revolving around the potential dream fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

After over five years of fans and insiders pondering the matchup, there seems to be genuine hope floating around that we could be seeing the two best from this generation lacing up sometime this year.

Veteran trainer and esteemed cut man Miguel Diaz, who is a part of Pacquiao’s corner, shared his thoughts on the latest talk surrounding Mayweather vs. Pacquiao.

“I think it’s as close as it’s ever been,” Diaz told me from the Texas Station Casino late Friday afternoon prior to the Jessie Magdaleno vs. Erik Ruiz weigh-in.

“Until we know for sure that each fighter has put their initials on the contract, everything else is just bullsh*t,” Diaz clarified.

Diaz served as Mayweather’s cut man for years early into his championship career and has always spoken highly of the Grand Rapids native’s talents.

Mayweather’s 2014 campaign saw him twice defeat Marcos Maidana over 12 rounds and Diaz feels Floyd is slowing down a little.

“I see Mayweather declining a little bit with his ability,” said the Argentinean. “To me he won both fights but I can see a little [slippage].”

Pacquiao’s last performance came this past November when he dominated Chris Algieri for 12 rounds, registering six knockdowns along the way.

For Diaz, Algieri’s underwhelming effort was to blame for a disappointing night.

“That was awful,” said Diaz bluntly. “[Algieri] didn’t come to fight. It’s very hard to fight when one of the guys doesn’t want to fight.”

Check below for the FULL interview with Diaz as well as other boxing updates…

Chris Robinson can be reached at CRobinson@hustleboss.com