Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Calls Manny Pacquiao A Coward, But Some Think It’s Just Posturing To Set Up Rematch

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. did an about face on talk of a rematch with Manny Pacquiao, calling the Filipino fighter a “coward” for using an injured shoulder as an excuse for losing to Mayweather in the bout of the century.

But there is growing speculation that Mayweather may still have a desire for a rematch, and the harsh words against Pacquiao are just setting the stage for another bout worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

In the wake of last week’s fight, Mayweather appeared open to the idea of a rematch, telling Stephen A. Smith that he could consider fighting Pacquiao again. But Floyd was singing a different tune in an interview with Showtime, calling Manny a “coward” for his post-fight excuses.

“He lost,” Mayweather told Showtime. “He knows he lost. I lost a lot of respect for him after all of this.”

When asked about the text to Smith, Mayweather confirmed that he sent it but said he had changed his mind.

“At this particular time, no, because he’s a sore loser and he’s a coward,” Floyd said. “If you lost, accept the loss and say, ‘Mayweather, you were the better fighter.'”

There are some who don’t take Mayweather at his word, however. Bleacher Report writer Lyle Fitzsimmons wrote that lingering disappointment over the fight — which was boring to many casual fans or newcomers to the sport — as well as a general dislike for Mayweather means a rematch would need to be played up.

“The baseline disgust over a career’s worth of domestic violence won’t have gone away in nine to 12 months, and it’ll be joined this time by folks who’ve already shown no compunction about pulling pins on their ‘boxing is dead’ grenades as a response to an ill-conceived C-note sacrifice last weekend.

“To get those people back in the boat, you’re going to need some fresh new bait.

“And in that case, what could be more intoxicating than Floyd simply being Floyd?”

There is another reason the fight could happen. It was expected that Mayweather would take in somewhere north of $150 million in last week’s fight, but the final totals actually put it much higher. Business Insider reports that Mayweather’s payout could be as high as $250 million.

While a Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch may generate as much revenue, if the figure is correct then it doesn’t matter if Floyd Mayweather, Jr. thinks Manny Pacquiao is a coward.

[Image via Getty Images]