By Dan Ambrose: Manny Pacquiao says he’s still interested in facing Floyd Mayweather Jr in a rematch if the 44-year-old boxing great is willing to come out of retirement to face him. Getting Mayweather to agree to fight Pacquiao again could prove impossible.
Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) would like a chance to get revenge for his close 12 round unanimous decision loss to Mayweather from 2015, a fight that he believes he should have won.
Interestingly, Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) has shown no desire to fight Pacquiao again, even though it would provide him a bigger payday than he’s getting nowadays by fighting YouTubers like Logan Paul.
Many boxing fans believe Mayweather realizes that he would lose if he fought Pacquiao right now, so he will not allow the Filipino star to tarnish his unbeaten 50-0 record.
Of course, if Mayweather would almost surely insist that a fight with Pacquiao be an exhibition bout rather than a real one, that would potentially mar his record.
Pacquiao WON’T fight a YouTuber
“I’m still active in boxing, [Floyd Mayweather Jr’s) retired already, so I don’t know,” said Pacquiao to TMZ Sport when asked about a second fight with Floyd. When asked if he’d like a rematch against Mayweather, Pacquiao said, “Yes.”
No, I will not. I will not,” said Manny on fighting YouTubers Jake or Logan Paul. “I want to fight the best to add on to my legacy,” said Pacquiao.
Mayweather has developed a system of picking out non-boxers to fight since retiring in 2016, and he’s done well in getting boxing fans to purchase his events thus far. In Mayweather’s three matches since turning, he’s beaten these guys:
- Logan Paul – YouTube celebrity
- Tenshin Nasukawa – kickboxer
- Conor McGregor – UFC fighter
How long Mayweather will be able to sell his fights against MMA fighters and YouTubers is unknown. But it’s safe to say he won’t be entertaining the idea of fighting Pacquiao anytime soon.
Mayweather doesn’t want to lose, obviously, and against Pacquiao, he would likely get beaten. The hand speed and reflexes that Mayweather once had are now gone.
He’s got the boxing knowledge still, but the speed is totally gone. In Mayweather’s last fight against Logan Paul on June 6th, he looked badly faded in winning an eight round exhibition match.
Roach: Pacquiao is too fast for Spence
“No, that’s not why we’re here. We’re not in this for money. Manny just wants to make money to help the people,” said Freddie Roach to Secondsout about whether Pacquiao was disappointed a fight with UFC star Conor McGregor didn’t happen.
“How many houses has he built in the Philippines so far? With his own money, he’s a very generous person. We’re in a very difficult fight for us, yes, but we had our best day of sparring yesterday.
“One guy came close, but he got knocked down, so I said, ‘Now you owe me,'” said Roach when asked if any of Pacquiao’s sparring partners have collected on the $1,000 offer that he has on the table to be given to anyone that can drop Manny during training.
“Not too much because he works out all the time. He sends me tapes of his workouts for at least once a month for the last two years, and then he sends me tapes of him playing basketball,” Roach said on whether Pacquiao’s ring rust is a concern for him.
“I feel like we’re in a good spot right now, and I expect him to win this fight,” continued Roach about Pacquiao’s fight with Errol. “I think he’s much too fast for Errol Spence.
“Errol Spence is a little heavy in his feet and kind of plods a little bit. He doesn’t have the movement that Manny has, and I think Manny will overwhelm him with that movement,” said Roach in giving his analysis of Pacquiao’s match against Spence.
If Pacquiao beats Spence, there’s going to be a HUGE amount of interest in a rematch. With the money that Pacquiao can make fighting Spence a second time, he won’t need Mayweather.
Fighting Spence a second time will make Pacquiao a fortune and further cement his legacy in boxing.