After a strong win over Keith Thurman, talk of a rematch with Floyd Mayweather is intensifying. Here’s what Manny had to say about that.
Manny Pacquiao improved to 62-7 on Saturday night with a win over Keith Thurman, taking the WBA welterweight title and handing Thurman his first career loss in a thrilling back and forth battle (watch the highlights here). While there’s still some argument over whether a split decision win for Pacquiao didn’t give the Filipino legend enough credit for his performance, enough legit outlets scored things for Thurman that there is talk of a rematch.
But there’s also talk of another rematch, one that continues to grow steam the longer Manny continues to show up and throw down: a rematch against Floyd Mayweather.
Mayweather, of course, is retired. But that didn’t stop him from accepting a bout against Conor McGregor back in 2017 and if the numbers were right (and there’d certainly be enough money to go around), we imagine anything is possible. The first Pacquiao vs. Mayweather bout in 2015 went down as the most lucrative boxing match in the history of the sport, and we imagine a rematch would be even bigger.
Pacquiao has long maintained that he’s interested in a rematch, but is unwilling to chase someone in retirement. That’s the general tenor of what he said after the Thurman fight when asked about the chances of Mayweather vs. Pacquiao 2.
“I don’t have an idea,” he said. “My plan this time is one fight at a time. He’s in retirement and he’s enjoying his retirement. He’s inactive. If he’s willing to come back and willing to fight me, then at the time he will announce it, we can say yes.”
This isn’t just a pointless retread either. Pacquiao came into the Mayweather fight with a shoulder injury that hampered his performance. While their first fight was a disappointment as far as entertainment goes, many would still find themselves plunking down the 60 to 100 (to 120?) dollars to see if a Pacquiao with two healthy shoulders could finally upset “Money” Mayweather.
For now, Mayweather’s official line is he isn’t interested. None. Zilch. Zero.
“Floyd has no interest,” Mayweather’s business manager Leonard Ellerbe told Boxing Scene. “He has zero interest. He’s been doing this all his life. And after a while, you get burned out. He’s given the sport everything.”
What do you say, Maniacs? Is Mayweather vs. Pacquiao 2 a bout you’d be interested in seeing? Or would you rather see Manny continue to fight the younger, tougher dogs and collect some more belts?