By: Sean Crose
“That’s an old video,” Floyd Mayweather tells FightHype in a video that was released Sunday. “At the end of the day, there’s no talk about me and Manny Pacquiao fighting a rematch.” Although Mayweather is never seen discussing the matter in the FightHype video, both the voice and subject matter appear to match up with the wild speculation that made its way across the fight world this past weekend when a video emerged of Mayweather discussing a rematch with Pacquiao in Saudi Arabia. “It’s an honor to come to Saudi Arabia to sit down and talk with your guys about the Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch,” Mayweather says in a clip making the rounds.
Mayweather fought Pacquiao, after much delay, in a 2015 superfight that broke financial records, but that left many fight fans wanting. Ultimately, the match didn’t prove to be much more than the standard, one sided affair most Mayweather fights looked like (though Pacquiao clearly had his moments). Since that time, there’s been intermittent talk of the two men fighting again, even though the first fight proved to be a very lucrative disappointment. What’s more, Mayweather is now essentially retired, while Pacquiao has gone on to a career resurgence sine surprising many by besting Keith Thurman earlier this summer.
Mayweather, who has made it clear on several occasions that he’s no fan of the Filipino icon, referred to Pcaquiao in a negative light again in Sunday’s FightHype video. According to Mayweather, a rematch is pretty much pointless. “All they (team Pacquiao) are going to do is have an excuse (should Mayweather win again). Excuse after excuse.” Mayweather further indicates that he takes offense to the fact that Pacquiao said he had a shoulder injury during their 2015 bout. “A real champion,” says Mayweather, “he takes his wins like a man, he takes his losses like a man.”
“As far as me and Manny Pacquiao,” Mayweather concludes, “as of right now, there will never be a rematch.” Should a second Mayweather-Pacquiao fight actually ever come to fruition, it would presumably have to happen soon, as both Mayweather and Pacquiao are now in their 40s, no small thing in the world of boxing. With Mayweather having gone without facing legitimate competition (unless you count Conor McGregor, who Mayweather stopped in a highly hyped and lucrative novelty bout two years ago) since 2015, it may be unlikely that a second throwdown between he and arch nemesis Pacquiao will come to pass.
