SPORTS SHORTS 216: MANNY PACQUIAO VS. FLOYD MAYWEATHER II RUMORS LINGER ON
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 13 Sep 2021
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao did not stop fans and scribes from thinking of one day facing each other one more time in a rematch which could still be a box office hit on pay-per-view even if both fighters are in the twilight of their fighting flairs.
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When they fought on May 2, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, the fight broke revenue records in the United States with 4.6 million PPV buys and $410 million in revenue, making it the highest-grossing PPV in history.
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Mayweather fought YouTube sensation Logan Paul on June 6, 2021 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. CompuBox punch stats, showed Mayweather landing 43 punches of 107 thrown (40.2%), compared to Paul's 28 landed of 217 thrown (12.9%). There was no decision since it was just an exhibition bout.
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Manny Pacquiao lost to Yordenis Ugas via 12-round unanimous decision, 116-112, 116-112, 115-113, in their fight billed as The Legend vs. The Olympian on August 21, 2021, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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CompuBox stats showed that Ugas landed 151 or 37.3% of his total punches and 101 or 59.1% of his power punches, compared to Pacquiao’s 130 or 16% total punches and 88 or 25.9% power punches.
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Reports had it that both ring archrivals could meet again possibly in an exhibition, as they never run out of comments for each other in media especially now that they are back in the limelight.
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“When I come and do an exhibition or come out and box and have some fun, I do it because I want to do it, not because I have to do it,” Mayweather said about Pacquiao as quoted by Insider. “Whereas Pacquiao at his age, it’s sad that he has to fight. I’m financially set. I want to let everybody know this.”
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Pacquiao replied in Power and Play, “Why would I try to fight an undefeated fighter if I’m chasing the paycheck? We know this is a real fight. I fight because this is my passion. I love beating undefeated fighters and bringing honor to my country. I’m not like some other guys who are in it just for the money."
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“Some other fighters challenge non-boxers just to get paid. I want to fight. I want to challenge the best," Pacquiao was referring to Mayweather. "If I’m fighting for the money, then I would have picked some scrub to fight.”
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A question was asked before he fought Ugas on how long he will fight on as his match will be crucial for when Mayweather will be on the table, Pacquiao answered: “It’s hard to say right now. It could be [my last professional fight], but there could also be more fights after this. I’m taking it one at a time. We can’t tell the future.”
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MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons has challenged Mayweather to meet Pacquiao again. Together with a poster of the boxing rivals, Gibbons tweeted: “Floyd, you can come and get some! Senator Pacquiao will send you into double retirement."
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Mayweather announced his third retirement from boxing in August 2017. Pacquiao's loss to Ugas could see Mayweather vs. Pacquiao II getting off the ground again as some analysts put it.
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Pacquiao's long time trainer Freddie Roach has stated that his fighter would like a rematch with Mayweather to be a "professional bout" after the American recently fought Paul in an exhibition clash. “We would like to fight Mayweather one more time,” Pacquiao’s Hall of Fame trainer Roach told Sky Sports.
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“But exhibitions? No. Manny is not into that," Roach continued. "The thing about Manny? He is not just going to pick some guy with a high rating because the world loves him. Manny wants to fight real fighters. He will challenge the best.
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“Boxing is my passion. That’s why I’m still here giving inspiration to the boxing fans and bringing honor to my country. I’m happy doing my job and working hard," Pacquiao insisted.
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He declared before his fight with Ugas: "This could be my last fight, or there could be more. I’m turning 43 in December, and my plan has always been to just go one fight at a time. I encourage the fans all over the world to watch this fight, because you never know.”
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The Pacquiao camp has for many years been offering a rematch. But instead of accepting the rematch, Mayweather took easy fights against MMA superstar Conor McGregor and YouTuber Logan Paul.
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Fortune viewed it as a disgrace as quoted by ABS-CBN News. "Boxing has done him good, Mayweather. Now he’s gone and sullied its name. They are great if they’re exhibitions, people just cashing out. Good luck to you. But don’t let them go on your record," the conditioning coach said.
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Fortune said Pacquiao would have made short knockout of McGregor in what Mayweather took 10 rounds. “It would have gone 2 rounds against McGregor. One round to warm up and 1 round to finish the guy. Or we could have warmed up properly in the changing rooms and it would have gone one round," said Fortune.
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"McGregor is not a boxer. It’s not his sport. Manny’s not an MMA guy, it’s not his sport. Put Manny against McGregor in MMA and McGregor destroys Manny. Manny against McGregor in boxing Manny destroys him," he continued.
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Whatever Mayweather say about Pacquiao, it doesn't matter to Fortune. For the former heavyweight fighter, Pacquiao has already surpassed Mayweather at this point of his career.
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“We’ll never see another Pacquiao again. Period. Manny has surpassed Floyd Mayweather. If Floyd wanted to prove a point, he would have fought Manny again," the Australian coach was quoted by Boxing Scene.
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"We all know Manny had a shoulder injury. The offers were put out there for the rematch. (Mayweather) wanted nothing to do with it," said Fortune.
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Mayweather signed with Fanmio for the Logan Paul fight. Its CEO Solomon Engel is determined to showcase only the biggest and best-grossing boxing events and said, "Anyone that Floyd faces will bring a lot of eyeballs and a lot of interest. There are certainly other potential opponents. But I don’t want to say names now."
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"I think it something that requires further conversations with Floyd. Also, those other parties before we can see whether those bouts can come about," Engel continued.
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There could be no bigger fight than a rematch between Pacquiao and Mayweather, and with Manny's loss to Ugas, Floyd may think its easier to beat him this time. Both fighters have grown old but their rematch could rake in PPV buys bigger than that of the 1.6 million PPVs of the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. exhibition.
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The undefeated American can start counting the possible revenues that could be generated by two of the biggest names of all time in boxing facing each other again in an unfinished business.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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