Mayweather Vs. Pacquiao Rematch Now In Negotiations, New Report Says — Money Too Huge To Pass Up

Less than two weeks after the blockbuster Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao megafight, a rematch between the world’s top two fighters is already in the works, according to a report in a New York newspaper Wednesday. The reason? Simple. The money involved is just too good to pass up.

The Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight was widely viewed by the public as a disappointment, mainly because Pacquiao was able to land few effective punches on Mayweather — one of the great defensive fighters ever to occupy a ring — while at the same time Mayweather appeared content to cruise to a unanimous decision win, never engaging in a crowd-pleasing toe-to-toe exchange with the hard-punching Philippines fighter.

After the fight, Manny Pacquiao claimed that he was suffering a shoulder injury during the fight that impeded his performance. Mayweather, in turn, accused Pacquiao of making excuses for his loss and said he would refuse a rematch as a result.

Nonetheless, the box-office performance of the fight in pay-per-view sales and in the live gate shattered all previous records, with more than $500 million expected in worldwide revenues. Mayweather stands to collect as much as $209 million from the fight, while Pacquiao can be expected to pocket a check for $143 million.

For those reasons, despite the bad blood between the fighters in the aftermath of the fight and the negative public reception of the contest itself, representatives for Mayweather and Pacquiao have already begun discussions for a rematch, according to a New York Post Page Six report.

“It’s already being negotiated,” Page Six quites an unnamed source as saying. “The fight will be the first event at the under-construction MGM–AEG Arena set to open next year.”

On the other hand, Page Six also notes that both sides denied that a Mayweather vs. Pacquiao fight was in the works, at least not yet.

Mayweather has one fight remaining on his contract with the Showtime pay cable network, and that bout is scheduled to take place in September. While no opponent for Mayweather has yet been named for that fight, Pacquiao is not considered a candidate because the fighter requires four months to recover from shoulder surgery, followed by a training camp lasting three months.

That would mean the earliest a Mayweather vs. Pacquiao rematch could take place would be next year, most likely in May. Mayweather has fought the first weekend in May in four of the past five years.

[Image: Al Bello/Getty Images]