It?s way too early to even conjure visions of a rematch between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao since the Filipino boxing icon, recovering from surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder, will be out of commission until next year. But because the first meeting generated revenues in excess of $500 Million, you wonder if a return bout will be as marketable.
There is talk in Pacquiao?s camp that if and when he decides to return to the ring, the man opposite his corner will be only Mayweather. Pacquiao isn?t interested to fight anybody else, said an insider, squashing speculation of an Amir Khan duel sometime in the future, somewhere in the Middle East.
But is Mayweather willing to give Pacquiao another chance? The insider claimed that if the price is right, Mayweather won?t hesitate to step up to the plate once more. Mayweather has one fight left in his Showtime contract and he?s due to wind up his commitment in September, obviously in a fight not involving Pacquiao. Khan has been mentioned as an option for Mayweather particularly after convincingly beating Chris Algieri on points in Brooklyn last Friday (yesterday morning, Manila time). The September fight is supposed to be Mayweather?s swan song but everyone knows the hardest decision a boxer has to make in his career is when to hang up his gloves. Mayweather retired once before and came back after nearly a two-year hiatus.
Pacquiao has been ruled out of boxing this year. If his therapy produces positive results, he should be able to fight again in May. If there is public clamor for a rematch, Mayweather may just oblige. And Pacquiao, who plans to retire from the fight game after two more outings, won?t back down from a second or even a third chance. Pacquiao and Mayweather may ride into the sunset together with their saddle money bags bulging at the seams.
In their first encounter last May 2, the so-called Fight of the Century brought in record income with $72 Million from live gate receipts, $15 Million in closed-circuit ticket sales, $35 Million in foreign TV rights fees and at least $400 Million in US pay-per-view buys. Mayweather?s share is expected to be at least $180 Million when the final accounting is done with Pacquiao raking in about $120 Million.
On the whole, fans were disappointed at how the bout turned out. Mayweather held, ran and refused to engage. Pacquiao tried to make a fight of it and chased the elusive Mayweather from pillar to post. In the process, he hyperextended his right shoulder and fought Mayweather with only one good arm starting the fifth round. Still, some experts believed Pacquiao deserved the decision because of his aggressiveness and Mayweather just didn?t do enough to win. Dean’s Corner ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
ESPN?s Skip Bayless said ?many of those folks paid to see blood, knockdowns, a knockout and they got no bang for their bucks, they got bored, they got angry.? Bayless went on: ?Pacquiao was clearly the aggressor in seven of the 12 rounds. Now the poor man is being sued as he has surgery. Only in America. Naturally, Pacquiao wants a rematch. Wouldn?t you? I, for one, was surprised and excited when Mayweather texted my debate partner Stephen A. Smith during our Tuesday (ESPN) show and said bring it (rematch) on. How about a ?home? game for Pacquiao this time, Floyd, say in Macau, China?s Vegas? How about some international judges? No, I do not love it that if they fight again, Mayweather will be 39 and Pacquiao 37 and coming off major surgery. And no, I am not trying to fool you into buying it again. But I will. This time, I?d pay double to see it. Pacquiao deserves a rematch. And he will win. Again.?
Since Mayweather?s text to Smith, he?s changed his mind about a rematch. Mayweather said Pacquiao doesn?t deserve another chance because he?s a sore loser and a coward. Someone in Pacquiao?s camp said Mayweather has to be convinced that he?ll win a rematch before agreeing to it.
?This talk about Pacquiao getting robbed of the decision is making Mayweather think twice about a rematch,? an expert said. ?Pacquiao fought with just one good arm starting the fifth round and could?ve, probably should?ve won. Imagine what Mayweather must be thinking now. With two good arms, Pacquiao will walk all over Mayweather in a rematch. That?s not a convincing argument for Mayweather to agree to a rematch.?
Mayweather?s record is now 48-0. He?s expected to raise it to 49-0 after he beats his September opponent. If he faces Pacquiao in a rematch, perhaps in May next year, Mayweather will go for win No. 50, a milestone in his career and only a win away from duplicating Ricardo Lopez? record as an undefeated world champion.
Will fans pay for a rematch? ?That all depends on how it?s promoted,? the expert replied. ?What?s intriguing fans at the moment is Pacquiao fought Mayweather with just one good arm starting the fifth round and didn?t do badly. It seemed like there was a plot to condition the public?s mind through the TV commentary and even the ComuBox stats that Mayweather was a runaway winner. Now, fans are coming out to talk about the possibility of a hometown conspiracy. Some reporters have reviewed the fight on tape and concluded that it was a lot closer than what the scorecards indicated. In fact, they?ve come up with stats showing that Pacquiao landed more than Mayweather, a startling revelation considering the notion that the fight was one-sided. If Mayweather?s victory isn?t as conclusive as it was first perceived to be, then expect a clamor for a rematch.?
