Manny Pacquiao Eyes Rematch With Floyd Mayweather...
>After Successful Return to the Ring in Las Vegas
- Manny Pacquiao returned with a victory over Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas
- Pacquiao claimed the WBO welterweight title with a unanimous decision
- The 37-year-old is now seeking a rematch with Mayweather
- Pacquiao lost to Mayweather on points in the richest fight of all-time
Daily Mail UK, 7 November 2016
Manny Pacquiao is seeking a rematch with Floyd Mayweather of the richest fight of all time so they can restore the public’s faith in boxing.
Their long delayed and much ballyhooed fight last year made well over half a billion dollars at the box office but was a monumental turn-off for the worldwide television audience.
So massive was the negative impact on the sport that it has been blamed for a huge drop in pay-per-view ratings and when a return bout was first mooted the public groaned at the prospect.
Manny Pacquiao celebrates his victory over Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas on Saturday
Sportsmail's Jeff Powell (left) meets Manny Pacquiao in Las Vegas the day after his fight
Both men retired subsequently but the Pacman came back brilliantly in Las Vegas on Saturday night to win his 11th world title with a vintage beating of welterweight champion Jessie Vargas.
The reason he would like Mayweather to join him in his return to the ring is not the money.
The morning-after sun was blazing down on the desert scene of his renaissant triumph, in the month before his 38th birthday, as Pacquiao said:
‘If we fight again I will do everything in my power to win back the trust of the fans.
‘They would not be disappointed again if it happens. I promise to make sure they love it. That is what we owe them.’
No-one was disappointed with the lightning speed and virile power of Pacquiao’s performance against the much larger, as well as a decade younger, Vargas.
Even Mayweather said: ‘Not bad.’
Pacquiao took the victory with all three ringside judges following a professional performance
Quote:
TALE OF THE TAPE
Floyd Mayweather......Manny Pacquiao
39.........................Age..........37
49-0-0 (26)....Record (KO)...59-6-2
5ft 8ins.............Height.......5ft 6ins
72ins.................Reach..........67ins
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Mayweather’s acceptance of Pacquiao’s personal invitation to a ringside seat rustled the grapevine with
speculation of a rematch next year.
Before jetting back to his duties as a senator in the Philippines, Pacquiao said:
‘We have not had any discussions about a second fight but I know I will be boxing again.
‘And if the fans want it, why not?’
He fought the original fight with an injured shoulder and Mayweather did just enough to win. Now he says:
‘I will make sure I am able to be my best if there is a next time.’
Should it happen the two of them could expect to bank roughly half the $210 million paid to Mayweather and Pacquiao’s purse of $120 million.
That might be an offer too good for Mr Money to refuse but it is not the Pacman’s motivation.
Floyd Mayweather made an appearance ringside for Pacquiao's comeback on Saturday
Pacquiao says:
‘My most important contract is the one I have with the fans. The money is not as important as accomplishment, honour and giving excitement to the fans.’
Sceptics should know that in addition to his huge charity funding in his homeland he made sure that thousands of the less affluent of his fellow countryman living in the US were able to gain admission to the Thomas and Mack Center to watch his comeback.
He insisted that the price for 7,000 seats was reduced to $50. That was by no means all, as he explains:
‘I also spent almost $2 million buying tickets for my fans who could not afford the $50.’
Pacquiao’s take home pay from this fight is expected to rise to about $8 million but his guarantee is just half that, of which 50 per cent has already gone on those tickets.
By virtue of his political day job the Pacman also has the title His Honour.
Consequently this purse mattered less than his achievement.
Mayweather and Pacquiao met in a mega-money fight back in 2015 at the MGM Grand
‘It is good to be a world champion again,‘ says the only boxer to win those titles in eight different weight divisions.
And he adds: ‘Even more important to me is making history and I am very proud to be the first sitting senator ever to be a world champion.’
How long can he go on now he is back?
‘I can’t say I will definitely be fighting at 40,’ he says. ‘But others have proved it is possible. It depends on your dedication and how you look after your body. We found a way to do that by working all day in the Senate and then training at night.
‘It requires discipline and time management and we have established the pattern which will enable me to fight on. In fact I feel better this morning than after many fights earlier in my career. The training has been tailored to take care of my body. It could not recover now from 33 rounds of physical work every day of camp.’
Pacquiao (right) battles it out with Vargas in their WBO welterweight championship fight
His only discomfort this day comes with the seven stitches in a wound opened on his skull by a clash of heads in the last round.
Pacquiao also conditioned his mind for this fight. He says:
‘I kept being told I was fighting a bigger younger opponent. So all the time in training I kept telling myself "You’re Not Old, You’re Not Old".’
He looked anything but ancient in this fight. Other than as the Pacman of old.
The solitary disappointment was that the first knock-out in seven years he wanted, which frequently looked imminent against Vargas, did not materialise.
If only he would pick on someone his own size in the spring, when the Senate will be in recess giving him time for his next fight.
But the likelihood, be he in the ring with Mayweather or a young buck such as Terence Crawford, is that he will be boxing again at 147 lbs.
Pacquiao smiles as he walks to his corner during the fight on Saturday night
More immediately, his flight home to Manila will land early this Tuesday morning and he will go straight to the reopening of the Senate.
‘That really is my next big fight,’ says this remarkable fighter, politician and philanthropist.
As we talked his suite on the Strip was filled to overflowing with family, friends and boxing associates all enjoying a lavish Sunday brunch.
When I joked to this deeply religious man that it seemed like the feeding of the 5,000 he laughed and said: ‘You know me.’
That, Your Honour, is a pleasure.
Pacquiao celebrates after securing a unanimous points victory in his return to the ring
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