Now that the dust has settled following the May 2nd mega-fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao, some harsh realities need to be acknowledged.
First, despite notching the official victory in the record books and collecting a record-smashing all-time high payday, Mayweather emerged from the entire circus-like event having lost the most in terms of critical respect and fan recognition.
His safety-first exhibition against a damaged Pacquiao turned off the vast majority of fans watching the bout and created a huge backlash among the media. It also didn?t help his case that he failed to truly dominate a fighter who would require shoulder surgery after the bout. Honestly, the only real thought to take away from the May 2 bout is that Mayweather barely managed to beat a Pacquiao who was nowhere near a hundred percent. He would even be rocked by the Filipino star in the fourth round and bothered by shots at several other moments in the fight.
Second, now that the Pacquiao bout is over and done with, there?s no true big-ticket opponent left for him, unless he chooses to jump up to the middleweight division. The five-division world champ has reportedly nixed the idea of facing Amir Khan and has been severely taken to task for reportedly pursuing a bout with Andre Berto. With a network contract to satisfy, Mayweather has to find a suitable opponent for a PPV event?significantly better and more marketable than Andre Berto. And if his career continues beyond the upcoming September 12 date, the pickings will be even slimmer when it comes to suitable PPV partners.
This all points to a return to Pacquiao and a second try at not only beating his arch-rival, but absolutely affirming his superiority in the eyes of the entire boxing world. Mayweather may not address the fact in public, but his mighty ego has to be bruised after failing to get the accolades he craved for finally beating Pacquiao.
Instead of accolades, Mayweather was met with scorn and criticism and doubt over the quality of his performance against a fighter who was not operating at full capacity. That competitive drive has to be burning for a chance to shut the critics? mouths and, of course, the businessman in him knows that no other bout will produce the same level of payday.
Meanwhile, Manny Pacquiao could be returning as soon as the end of this year or as late as spring 2016. He has options and, to a certain extent, the loss has given him some freedom in the area of looking for his next opponent. No longer bound by his stated pursuit of Mayweather, Manny can go just about anywhere with his career now.
In good health and good spirits, Pacquiao will hold all the cards in the new Floyd-Manny dynamic. Mayweather, in contrast, will feel increasing pressure to revisit the Pacquiao bout, due to critical demand as well as financial, bottom line concerns.
And this time, if the two meet once again, it?ll be Manny Pacquiao calling his fair of the shots and making Mayweather jump through some hoops.
