Following Manny Pacquiao's domina
nt performance against Timothy Bradley over the weekend, talk of a rematch with Floyd Mayweather is back on.
Though Mayweather has maintained that he is retired, most believe he's secretly planning to return one last time to improve to 50-0 and pass Rocky Marciano's mark at the new $375-million, 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas... and of course, earn one last BIG PAYDAY.
Showtime Sports executive Stephen Espinoza believes it's a possibility... and all the general public has to do is ask for it.
He tells RingTV that he was impressed by Pacquiao's performance and spoke to Mayweather sometime after the fight to gauge his interest in a rematch... and got the impression that Mayweather would consider coming out of retirement if there were enough fan interest.
"I thought Pacquiao looked good, looked as good as he has looked in the last three or four years," Espinoza said. "He was active. He showed the power. He was quick. But really in terms of a Mayweather rematch, it's really up to the audience, to the fans and the writers. I know from talking to Floyd -- if there's demand for a particular fight -- I think he will give it strong consideration. But I think this is one where we're not going to put the cart before the horse. If people are interested in that fight then I think they'll make their voices heard and we’ll start working on it."
Since defeating Andre Berto last September, Mayweather has been adamant that he is retired. But, as of late, he seems to have changed his tune and has even gone as far as suggesting that he didn't know what the future held.
"It's certainly more interesting now than it was a couple weeks ago," Espinoza said of a potential rematch. "With that performance, what Manny showed is that he still has the ability to perform at a high level and arguably at a higher level than he did last May. So whatever the reason, if people believe that the outcome or really the fight will be different this time, I think there could be some interest that is building for that fight."
Mayweather advisor, Leonard Ellerbe, maintains what Floyd has maintained: he's retired. But, as the L.A. Times points out, this is how Team Mayweather operates. Ellerbe previously told the paper he didn't really know who Miguel Cotto was, less than two years before Mayweatherfought him in 2012. So, downplaying the situation is usually part of the plan.
Mayweather-Pacquiao grossed over $600 million last May, after years of hype, but was an utter disappointment, as Mayweather cruised to a one-sided unanimous decision victory.
There's two sides as to why though. Was Mayweather just too good, and able to neutralize Pacquiao's offense? Or, did Pac-Man's shoulder injury hinder his explosiveness?
Either way, as Espinoza said, it may be up to the fans, as to whether we'd like to see the boxing greats go at it one more time.
Would you pay to watch Mayweather-Pacquiao 2?
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