The 2015 Floyd Mayweather Jr (50-0, 27 KOs) vs Manny Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) showdown was undoubtedly one of the most anticipated matchups in the sport. So much so that it earned over $600 million, making it one of the richest fights in boxing history. Eight years down the road, Pacquiao surprised fans by dropping the bomb about a possible rematch between the duo. However, Mayweather’s uncle, Jeff Mayweather , strongly believes that his nephew does not “owe” Pacquiao a rematch.
The older Mayweather was asked about the potential rematch in a recent interview. “It is ironic that the fight is going to happen because, basically, I had millions of guys trying to get the fight done through me,” he said.
Mayweather further mentioned that he was confident the fight would not occur in the Philippines, as they were unsure if it would be an exhibition or a professional fight. He added that it is a great fight for fans regardless and even stressed that the names that came before the current generation of fighters are “still worthy.”
“Yeah! It’s still relevant, and there’s probably going to be more people wanting to see that fight than the biggest fight they have here in terms of the generation of fighters that they have right now,” Mayweather said.
The interviewer then asked him if Mayweather owed Pacquiao a rematch.“Nah, he doesn’t owe him anything,” he responded without skipping a beat. Mayweather stated that if he takes up the offer, his nephew will train for the fight as hard as he did during his younger days. Moreover, he added that if the fight eventually occurs, “Manny’s prayers were probably answered.”
When Pacquiao dropped the bomb
Rizin 45 might have had Kyoji Horiguchi (32-5-1, 15 KOs) and Makoto Takahashi (16-2-1) square off in an all-Japanese rematch for the inaugural flyweight title as the headlining event, but it was Pacquiao’s announcement that sent waves across the boxing world.
In attendance at the Saitama Super Centre in Japan, ‘Pacman’ stepped inside the ring to nuke the boxing world with a surprising announcement. “I hope to see you here again next year, in Japan, with big fight against…Floyd Mayweather, yeah,” he said. While thousands bore witness to Pacquiao’s statement, the lack of response from Team Mayweather has certainly turned heads.
Will ‘Pacman’ step inside the ring again with ‘TBE’? Will fans be left disappointed by another lackluster performance? Only time will tell.
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