Though 'depressed' about Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, Merchant thinks rematch is coming

MANILA, Philippines – Veteran boxing commentator Larry Merchant thinks Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are bound to do it again.

Mayweather and Pacquiao figured in boxing’s richest fight ever, and the bout’s financial success alone is enough reason to stage a rematch.

“I believe it's a possibility,” the 85-year-old Merchant recently said in a boxingscene.com report by David P. Greisman.

While the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight was a commercial success, it failed to live up to the hype due to lack of action. The undefeated Mayweather cruised to a unanimous decision win over Pacquiao, who was then revealed to have fought on an injured shoulder.

The bout drew record pay-per-view revenue and netted both boxers career-high paydays, leading some in the boxing community to speculate that a rematch could be in the offing.

Count Merchant among those who think Mayweather and Pacquiao will have another go at it.

“That fight was such an amazing event and just as amazing a bust in the ring, that you know that the businesspeople will try to bring it back, because if it does a third of the business, it will still be a big event,” he said.

The commentator, however, said he isn’t ecstatic about it.

“I'm depressed about it. Because it was the anticlimax of the century, and it's not likely to be any better,” said Merchant.

“I think people in boxing knew that Mayweather, in his calculation of risk and reward, does not tend to go toward risk, and that he was going to try to outbox Manny,” he added.

Pacquiao will challenge WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas on November 5, and has expressed desire for another crack at Mayweather.

Mayweather, for his part, has so far stayed retired. – Dino Maragay