By Sean Crose
Yup – there may indeed be a second Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout. For those who haven’t been “in the know,” a controversy has erupted since Saturday’s much hyped bout. Apparently, Pacquiao had fought with an injury to his shoulder. What’s more, the Nevada State Athletic Commission has since been accused of not allowing PacMan to take a perfectly legal pain killer before the bout which may have made him a more active participant in “the fight of the century.”
“Mayweather reportedly texted ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith stating he would be willing to fight Pac-Man again when he’s healthy, per SportsCenter on Twitter Tuesday.”
The rematch – were it to happen – would take some time to see fruition. For Pacquiao is reportedly going in for surgery on Thursday. After that, he’ll be out for a good amount of time. According to Dan Rafael of ESPN, via Twitter, Pacquiao has suffered a “’significant tear’ in his right rotator cuff, according to Dr. Neal ElAttrache.”
Needless to say, the injury and subsequent operation could take several months to heal. Whether or not that would allow PacMan to be ready to fight in September when Mayweather has claimed he wants to engage in his last match is up in the air.
It’s also up in the air whether fans will actually be receptive to another Mayweather-Pacquiao bout. The first was met with much derision, along with the usual song and dance of boxing being dead. Boxing may not be even close to dead – it’s part of the current national conversation right now, after all – but online, print and televised media has been loaded with gripes about the less than thrilling nature of Saturday’s bout.
The pay per view cost and subsequent delivery from cable providers didn’t help matters, either. People seem to have simply felt they didn’t get their hundred dollars worth. What’s more, Bleacher Report points out that Sport’s Illustrated Chris Mannix (who knows his way around the fight game) feel’s Pacquiao’s injury made little difference regarding how the fight itself played out.
“Not questioning Pacquiao’s injury,” Mannix tweeted, “but it wouldn’t have made a difference, as Arum suggests. This Manny isn’t beating this Floyd.”
In the end, however, that may not matter.