MANILA, Philippines — There is speculation that Floyd Mayweather Jr. may announce his decision whether or not to engage WBA welterweight champion Sen. Manny Pacquiao in a rematch on Feb. 24, the day he turns 42. If Mayweather accepts Pacquiao’s challenge to face off once more, the fight may be staged in Las Vegas in September.
Pacquiao, 40, hasn’t fought in September since 2005 when he stopped Hector Velasquez at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. A May date may be too soon considering Pacquiao was last in action against Adrien Broner two weeks ago. Mayweather was in the ring in Saitama, Japan, last December but it was hardly a test for the man called Money as he demolished kickboxer Tenshin Nasuwaka in 139 seconds to collect an easy $9 Million paycheck.
In August 2017, Mayweather ended a two-year layoff to stop MMA star Conor McGregor in 10 rounds in Las Vegas. That also wasn’t a test for Mayweather as McGregor was clearly not in his class as a boxer. So the last real challenge for Mayweather was in 2015 when he outpointed Andre Berto four months after decisioning Pacquiao.
Mayweather’s win over Pacquiao was tainted by controversy. Pacquiao battled one-armed from the fourth round when he injured his right shoulder but still gave Mayweather problems in the bout that went the distance. The decision was unanimous as judges Glenn Feldman and Burt Clements had it 116-112 while judge Dave Moretti saw it 118-110. Not a few sportswriters at ringside swore the fight was closer than what the tallysheets indicated and some even scored it for Pacquiao. The fight was a monster box office hit as ticket sales soared to $72 Million and pay-per-view revenues registered a record $410 Million on 4.6 million hits. A rematch may not generate as much income but even half of what the first fight brought in will be substantial.
If the rematch happens, both Mayweather and Pacquiao will be over 40 when they meet. In Las Vegas in 2010, Bernard Hopkins was 45 and Roy Jones Jr. was 41 when they clashed. Hopkins won on points. Hopkins, 54, posted a record of 10-6-1 with one no-contest after turning 40 while Jones, 50, had a record of 14-4 after turning 40. Last year, Jones was 49 when he beat Scott Sigman on a 10-round decision in Pensacola. Hopkins was 46 when he captured the WBC lightheavyweight crown in 2011, 48 when he took the IBF version and 49 when he added the WBA belt. Hopkins was 51 when he retired in 2016. The oldest fighter in history may be former WBC superlightweight titlist Saoul Mamby who was 60 when he ended his boxing career in 2008.
“By now, Floyd has probably decided if he’ll fight Manny or not,” said a boxing source from Las Vegas. “He’ll want to announce his decision on a day that marks a milestone, like his birthday. It’s possible the announcement will be made in three weeks. When Manny and Floyd met up in Tokyo last September, I don’t think Floyd imagined their meeting would go viral. That’s when Floyd told Manny they’ll fight and he kept yelling, easy fight, easy money, no more shoulder excuses. Now, Floyd’s backed into a corner and fans are expecting a rematch.”
The source said if Pacquiao knocked out Broner, Mayweather will have had second thoughts of fighting a rematch. “It’s not just legacy that Floyd wants to preserve but he also has to be confident of beating Manny,” said the source. “I think Floyd knows he’s better than Broner and since Manny couldn’t knock out Broner, Floyd should feel good about his chances to win the rematch. Floyd doesn’t need the money but it’s difficult to turn down $100 Million on the table.”
A little-known fact is Mayweather asked if Pacquiao could train in his Las Vegas gym a week before the Broner fight. But Pacquiao decided to work out in Bones Adams’ facility instead. Why Mayweather wanted Pacquiao to train in his gym is a subject of speculation. It could’ve been a set-up to hype a rematch. Pacquiao, however, wanted to stay focused on Broner and not be distracted by talk of a rematch with Mayweather.
“If Mayweather bets on the coming Super Bowl and loses, he could be set back by $500,000 or $1 Million depending on how much he puts up,” said the source. “Mayweather is known to bet big amounts. He doesn’t like to lose. So if he bets on the wrong team, it might just seal the Manny rematch. Who knows? Floyd is unpredictable.”