Manny Pacquiao didn’t have much time to savor his victory over Adrien Broner before the speculation started about a potential rematch with Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
On Saturday, Pacquiao defended his WBA welterweight championship over the American fighter, winning in a unanimous decision. But within minutes, the discussion had already turned to whether he would face Mayweather again in a much-anticipated rematch to their 2015 bout.
Manny Pacquiao said he would be up for the rematch .
“I’m willing to fight again against Floyd Mayweather if he’s willing to come back,” Pacquiao said.
The camera then panned to Mayweather, who was asked to nod if he agreed to the rematch. Mayweather gave no reaction.
In Showtime’s coverage of Pacquiao’s win, they turned frequently to Mayweather, who was in attendance as a spectator and co-promoter of the fight, but refused to take the bait about a potential rematch. At one point, Mayweather said he would have to wait until Pacquiao defeated Broner before he started thinking about a rematch.
Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. had already fueled the speculation after they were spotted attending a Los Angeles Clippers game. As TMZ reported, Pacquiao was attending as a guest for Filipino Heritage Night, while Mayweather flew in on his private jet specifically for the fight. As many noted, Mayweather and Pacquiao had famously crossed paths at a Miami Heat game in 2015 in the lead-up to their first bout, so the current meeting was seen as a potential harbinger that they are negotiating a new bout.
What would a rematch with Floyd Mayweather mean to Manny Pacquiao? He discusses that and much more ahead of his upcoming bout with Adrien Broner on the SI Boxing podcast: https://t.co/3gHfSXulag pic.twitter.com/g15qU3V8px
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 17, 2019
Floyd Mayweather, Jr. has said repeatedly that he has no plans to return to the boxing ring, though he had repeated this in a previous retirement as well. Mayweather is still finding ways to get a big payday, even after retiring, raking in $9 million for an exhibition bout against Japanese kickboxing star Tenshin Nasukawa, a win so brutal that it left his opponent in tears afterward.
Manny Pacquiao meanwhile has seen a resurgence to his career after many wrote him off following a controversial decision loss to Joe Horn. Since that loss, Pacquiao has consecutive wins over Lucas Matthysse and now Adrien Broner.
While there are not yet any details about a potential rematch between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr., it is likely that the fight would bring in an enormous sum. Their first fight generated more than $500 million in revenue, Business Insider reported, and left Mayweather with a cut of $220 million.