Mayweather, Pacq plan to fight in Dec.
LAS VEGAS — Floyd Mayweather couldn’t allow a big boxing week in Las Vegas to go by without drawing some attention to himself. Perhaps that’s why the retired legend announced he plans to return in December to fight Manny Pacquiao.
“I’m coming back in December,” Mayweather said in a video taken during an impromptu meeting with Pacquiao at a nightclub somewhere in Asia. Mayweather is seen in the video offering Pacquiao a chance to avenge his loss by unanimous decision when the two met in May 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
“That’s easy work right there,” Mayweather tells Pacquiao in the video. “I have the belt,” Pacquiao responds, referring to the WBA regular welterweight championship. “December, I think I need to make that comeback,” Mayweather says into a camera phone.
Whether the proposed rematch is all talk or actually happening isn’t clear at this point. But Mayweather’s chatter reached Las Vegas, where a sellout crowd was to witness a pay-per-view rematch between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin for the middleweight championship Saturday night. The two fought to a draw last year and are two of the biggest names in boxing since Mayweather’s retirement.
Mayweather, 41, was last in the ring on Aug. 26, 2017, when he took on UFC champion Conor McGregor in a boxing match at T-Mobile Arena. McGregor had never fought professionally as a boxer, and was stopped in the 10th round, but it was a massive pay-per-view event that earned Mayweather at least $200 million. Mayweather’s fight with Pacquiao in May 2015 was the richest fight in boxing history generating more than $400 million in revenue.
Pacquiao, who turned 40 in December, is a promotional free agent and not aligned to any network, which should make it easier to make a deal to fight Mayweather. Pacquiao has longed wanted a rematch after divulging his right shoulder was injured going into the first fight. He would have surgery on his rotator cuff soon after the bout.
“I don’t want you talking about your shoulder hurting!” Mayweather (50-0 with 27 KOs) can be heard saying in the video.
Later Pacquiao tweeted: 50-1 #Noexcuses.
The scoring was as onesided as the fight: 118-110 on one judge’s card and 116-112 on the two others.