They met a year ago this week in a fight that was the richest ever, even if it disappointed most of the millions who watched it.
Now, there are rumblings, however slight, that Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao might be persuaded to do it again.
“I would say there is a possibility a rematch happens, yes,” promoter Bob Arum said on Monday. “How big a possibility that is, I cannot really measure.”
Photo: AFP
Mayweather helped stir speculation at the weekend by saying in a Showtime interview that he might be persuaded to come out of retirement if the money was big enough. He said he had talked to Showtime and CBS about another fight and that “some crazy numbers have been thrown my way.”
Though Mayweather was not asked specifically about Pacquiao, the Filipino might be the only opponent who can help him reach those numbers.
“If I came back, of course, it would have to be a nine-figure payday, and probably a championship fight and a nine-figure payday,” Mayweather said.
Showtime executive vice president Stephen Espinoza said he is among the minority in boxing who believe Mayweather is unlikely to come back. However, Espinoza said he also believes a second fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao would do well.
“All of us here would love to see that fight again, or any other fight with Mayweather,” Espinoza said.
There does not seem to be a great appetite among boxing fans for a rematch of the bout that sold 4.6 million pay-per-views, but got lousy reviews. Mayweather won the fight by unanimous decision and afterward, Pacquiao revealed he fought with a shoulder injury.
Both fighters are also technically retired, and Pacquiao is in the middle of a senatorial campaign in the Philippines that, if he wins, would make it difficult for him to fight again.
However, Pacquiao could be tempted by a chance to avenge his defeat, while Mayweather could be lured back into the ring not only by a big payday, but a chance to break Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record and win fight No. 50 in his professional career.
“Obviously he is coming back, and I cannot see him making the kind of money he is talking about with anybody other than Manny,” Arum said of Mayweather.
Both fighters have fought once since their bout, with Mayweather beating Andre Berto in September last year and Pacquiao defeating Timothy Bradley last month. Both fights were pay-per-view busts, with sales in the range of 400,000, one-tenth of what they sold in the ring together.
Arum said the tepid box office performances were largely a result of a hangover from their fight in May last year. Many fans who spent a record US$99.95 to watch the fight at home felt they got taken by a lackluster bout that did not come anywhere near living up to its hype.
Arum said it would be hard for either fighter to move forward without the other.
“If they fight anybody else, there is going to be that hangover,” he said. “If they fight each other, people will be attracted to the fight. It will not do what the last fight did, but it might do 50 percent of the last fight.”
That would be enough to make Mayweather his nine-figure purse. It would also be enough to give Pacquiao a huge payday, if not the US$100 million or so he took from the Mayweather fight.
As was proven in the first fight between the two men that grossed about US$600 million, anything can happen in boxing if the money is right.
Robinson Cano spent 17 seasons playing in the MLB in front of all kinds of baseball fans, but he said there is something special about his stint with the Mexican Baseball League’s Diablos Rojos. He is not alone. The league last week opened its 100th season, aiming to keep an impressive growth in attendance that began after the national team’s surprise run at the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and is already surpassing some first-division soccer clubs. After finishing third in the 2023 tournament, many casual fans, some of them soccer enthusiasts disappointed after Mexico were eliminated in the first round in the 2022
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
Arne Slot has denied that Darwin Nunez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff. The Liverpool head coach on Sunday last week said that Nunez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield, having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticized for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons. Asked on Friday to clarify the situation, Slot said: “He
CUNNINGHAM CONNECTS: In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons snapped their record 15-game playoff losing streak by beating the Knicks to level their series at 1-1 Kawhi Leonard on Monday scored 39 points on 15-of-19 shooting as the Los Angeles Clippers evened their first-round NBA Playoffs series against the Nuggets with a 105-102 win in Denver. “It feels like he didn’t miss a shot,” James Harden said. “His shot-making ability is elite.” Good thing, too, because his teammates were a combined 26 of 66 for a 39 percent clip. “I made shots tonight,” Leonard said. “I just keep playing, try to stay in the zone no matter if I’m making or missing shots.” The fifth-seeded Clippers needed every bit of his brilliance to snatch the homecourt advantage in the series
RSS