Floyd Mayweather Jr. has one fight remaining on his current six-fight contract with Showtime, and he is apparently willing to complete the deal by giving Manny Pacquiao a rematch.
Mayweather reportedly sent a text message to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on Tuesday saying he is open to fighting Pacquiao again. But is a rematch actually plausible?
Pacquiao and Mayweather are not getting any younger. Pacquiao is set to undergo surgery on the shoulder that he injured before his fight against Mayweather, and he could need up to 12 months to recover. Mayweather will be 39 at that point and Pacquiao will be 37.
Remember how long it took Mayweather vs. Pacquiao to come together the first time around? A rematch would involve just as many — if not more — obstacles. For starters, some speculate that Mayweather-Pacquiao II would be a perfect way to open the new arena at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
MGM Grand's new arena opens in 360 days. #MayPacTwo http://t.co/4VUGuJHTYH pic.twitter.com/R8AmME1yPK
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) May 5, 2015
The issue with that is Pacquiao might not want to fight in Nevada again, especially after he was supposedly told he could not take a painkiller injection in his shoulder before last weekend’s fight.
Of course, the prospect of making nine figures each once again could persuade both fighters to make it happen. But aside from money, Floyd has very little left to fight for. His undefeated record remains intact, and no one can say he ducked Pacquiao his whole career.
Even though Mayweather did this to Pacquiao during the fight, the two seem to respect each other more now than they did before. Will money and respect be enough to inspire Mayweather to put his undefeated record on the line once again? We tend to doubt it.
