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HUNGRY PACQUIAO, INDIFFERENT MAYWEATHER?

By Paul Magno | September 18, 2018
HUNGRY PACQUIAO, INDIFFERENT MAYWEATHER?

The other day, when that 45-second video was released of Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao jawing at one another at some music event in Tokyo, Japan, fans and media ate it up like free soft serve ice cream at Circus Circus. 

Pacquiao, who looked like a hungry pup catching a glimpse of a glistening doggie treat in that video, was eager to embrace the fight and the mega-payday it would bring.

Actually, from the way he’s talking, he’s already in the planning stages.

"We will finalize the fight this week, either Mayweather or somebody else, where and when, what date," the 39-year-old Filipino told reporters.

"We met in Japan at an event, it's a big fight. We just ran with Mayweather in Japan and the reaction of the fans was so big…Maybe we can do the fight in Tokyo.

"He said 'easy fight, easy fight'. I said 'let's get it on and get back to the ring, we will fight. I have the belt'."

Mayweather, meanwhile, doesn’t seem entirely on the same page as Pacquiao when it comes to the “for sure” status of this high-profile rematch, despite having tweeted a throw-away line about fighting Manny for a “nine-figure” payday.

At a news conference Monday to speak about his move to expand his “TMT” brand into Japan via various business deals, Mayweather seemed non-committal about the idea of a second Pacquiao fight.

“The other day, me and Pacquiao actually had a run-in, but we don’t really know what can happen,” Mayweather said, adding that he would discuss the possibility of a rematch with his team after getting back to the United States.

“Maybe we can do the fight in Tokyo,” he added.

Back in 2015, Mayweather defeated Pacquiao via unanimous decision in what would be the most lucrative prizefight of all time, setting the record for pay-per-view buys at 4.6 million. Reports had Mayweather walking away with as much as $300 million from the event which was said to have generated $600 million worldwide. 

Since then, Mayweather fought Andre Berto four months after the Pacquiao bout and would retire for nearly two years before returning to the ring to stop UFC star Conor McGregor in another mega-lucrative Las Vegas event in September of 2017. 

Meanwhile, Pacquiao has traveled a tougher, significantly less lucrative route since the long-awaited Mayweather clash. Post-Mayweather wins over Timothy Bradley and Jessie Vargas were offset by a stunning loss to unheralded Jeff Horn in 2017. Most recently, however, Pacquiao partially rebuilt his brand by knocking out Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur—the first fight in Pacquiao’s new run as an entirely self-promoted fighter—to capture the WBA welterweight title. 

But, getting back to the present tense, the question has to be asked whether Mayweather is really serious about fighting Pacquiao once again or whether this was a bit of smart shit-stirring to get some publicity for his new Japanese business endeavors. 

Mayweather doesn’t need a Pacquiao fight, but who would turn down a 9-figure payday if it was dumped in their lap? 

Fortunately for him, he’s in a position to leisurely weigh options and decide whether the money generated by a rematch is going to be worth the risk and effort involved in taking any bout after having had just 10 going-through-the-motions rounds against a UFC fighter in over three years. 

But Pacquiao, kinda, sorta, needs this fight. While reports vary as to the health of Manny’s finances, the reality is that a new influx of big cash—delivered straight to him and not filtered through a promoter—could permanently solve any money issues he may be having. 

A back-up option for Pacquiao could be Amir Khan, but such a bout, staged in a booming UK market, would bring in significantly less money than even an under-performing second clash with Mayweather. 

So, it’s a pretty safe bet that Manny is watching Floyd’s every move, hoping against hope that his one-time archrival comes through with a green light for the big fight. 

And if Mayweather is just playing around, focused more on making a headline than a boxing comeback? Man…that’s pretty mean.

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