Floyd Mayweather: "I think Pacquiao's an unbelievable fighter"

Floyd Mayweather (right) attended the VIP screening of “Freelancers,” a forthcoming film starring friend 50 Cent (left), this week in L.A. (Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images)

Floyd Mayweather made his first public appearance this week since his Aug. 3 release from a Las Vegas jail after serving two months of a three-month sentence in a misdemeanor battery case.

The No. 1 boxer in SI.com's pound-for-pound ratings attended the VIP screening of Freelancers, the forthcoming crime-drama film starring Robert De Niro, Forest Whitaker and Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Mayweather's friend and business partner.

While on the red carpet, Mayweather (43-0, 26 KOs) made his first comments to the press since his release, briefly acknowledging longtime rival Manny Pacquiao.

I think Pacquiao's an unbelievable fighter, and hopefully we can make the fight happen in the future.

Top Rank's Bob Arum traveled to the Philippines on Monday to meet with Pacquiao (54-4-2, 38 KOs) to discuss the fighter's prospective opponents for a planned Nov. 10 fight. The leading candidates are Timothy Bradley, Juan Manuel Marquez and Miguel Cotto.

-- SI.com staff