Floyd Mayweather Jr. easily handled Marcos Maidana in Saturday’s rematch, and in doing so may have finally admitted that it is time for him to fight Manny Pacquiao.
After nearly losing to Maidana in May, the undefeated welterweight and junior middleweight champion easily handled the rematch , taking a unanimous decision. Judges scored the match 116-111, 116-111 and 115-112, all for Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Mayweather may have actually been the harshest critic of his performance.
“I think the difference was I didn’t stay on the ropes and I did a lot of movement and turning,” Mayweather said. “He’s a tough competitor. I do have some bumps and bruises but I listened to my dad [trainer Floyd Mayweather Sr.], who always says hit and don’t get hit and that’s how you last in this sport.
“I felt sharper in the first fight. My rhythm was a little off. I gave myself a C, C-minus. I thought I could have done a lot better. I got hit with some shots I shouldn’t have.”
Floyd Mayweather Jr. accepted the rematch with Maidana — only the second rematch of his career — because there were no other obvious opponents available. But many believe that a bout with Manny Pacquiao is becoming more and more inevitable.
The boxer’s camps have entered negotiations for a fight before, though never made it very far. But now even Mayweather seemed to welcome the idea.
“Let’s make it happen,” Mayweather said when asked by Showtime’s Jim Gray. “Pacquiao needs to focus on the guy in front of him. Once he gets past that test, let’s see what the future holds.”
Members from both Mayweather and Pacquiao’s camps have been talking up the fight in the last several months, and both boxer has won the necessary matches to keep it on track.
Some believe that a Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao fight would be the highest grossing bout in boxing history, netting $300 million or more and commanding at least $50 million for each boxer. But to get to that point Pacquiao must take care of his own business — a welterweight title defense against Chris Algieri on Nov. 22 in Macau, China.
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