By Geno McGahee
On May 2nd, 2015, most boxing fans put down 100 dollars to watch the fight that they waited for. It was at least 5 years in the making and the fight wasn’t much of a fight as Floyd Mayweather, JR., 50-0, 27 KO’s, easily boxed his way to a unanimous decision over Manny Pacquiao, 62-7-2, 39 KO’s.
After beating the undefeated welterweight champion, Keith Thurman, taking the WBA welterweight title, and putting together a record of 5-1, 1 KO, in his last six fights, the PacMan is looking for a rematch. Despite the likely repeat of 2015, the boxing fans are clamoring for this fight to happen and Floyd has already responded. He seems very irritated by the idea that the Manny now can beat the Floyd now.
The Manny fans will point to an injured shoulder going into the Floyd fight as the reason why he couldn’t perform well enough to win the fight. It can be said that Manny was not as active as he usually was in the first bout, but he wasn’t fighting Floyd in the other fights. Floyd has the ability to shut down his opponents and pick away en route to an easy decision win.
Despite Floyd being irritated, he will not come back for that. He is in this game for the money and if the right amount of cash can be banked, he will return. He took on Conor McGregor and made a ton, as he did with Manny and Oscar De La Hoya, although his recent cash-grabs were low risk, high reward. He made a lot of money knocking out Tenshin Nasukawa, a small kickboxer, in one round. Pacquiao would be much more competitive than that, but it’s still a fight he’s won before.
Manny’s motivation for this fight is what’s in question more than Floyd’s. Is Pacquiao looking at a rematch as a way to get paid again or is this a personal quest? Tommy Hearns was bothered by his loss to Sugar Ray Leonard and fought harder in the rematch and should have won it. It was a draw but it was really the victory that he sought out. Avenging a defeat is nothing new when there is motivation involved. If Pacquiao is well-trained, motivated and if Floyd is a few steps slower, which he is, perhaps he could give a better effort.
If it makes dollars, it makes sense, and Pacquiao-Mayweather JR II would be another big hit and probably another big disappointment for those looking for a competitive showdown with give and take. Pacquiao beating Thurman has helped his chances to get the rematch but if it happens, he’ll need to change a lot of tactics inside the ropes.
Floyd will fight for the money, if it’s enough to draw him in. He is as retired as he chooses to be, until the money train pulls into the station. It seems like the two fighters are starting a social media war and that’s how we got McGregor in the ring. Perhaps we are seeing the beginnings of the rematch.
