Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. posted their separate training videos online within hours. The videos fueled speculations that the two elite boxers are gearing up for another fight. While recent news suggests that this isn't the case, there is no denying that a Pacquiao-Mayweather 2 still commands a lot of attention.
Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao posted a video clip of himself training in a gym in Manila just over an hour after rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. posted his own training video. The 40-year-old Pacquiao, the world's only boxer to have won major world titles in eight weight divisions, is reportedly shopping for his next opponent after failing to get a fight against Mayweather Jr. Pacquiao last fought last January 19, essaying a dominant unanimous victory against American boxer Adrien Broner in Las Vegas, Nevada.
View this post on Instagram#TeamPacquiao A post shared by Manny Pacquiao (@mannypacquiao) on Feb 21, 2019 at 9:36pm PST
View this post on Instagram#TMT #TBE #Floyd #Mayweather #FloydMayweather #MayweatherPromotions @mayweatherpromotions A post shared by Floyd Mayweather (@floydmayweather) on Feb 21, 2019 at 8:55pm PST
Mayweather, meanwhile, fought last December 31, 2018, against kickboxing champion Tenshin Nasukawa in Japan. The fight, which Mayweather thoroughly dominated, was a three-round exhibition. Mayweather reportedly earned $9 million for the fight that ended in one round after Nasukawa's corner threw in the towel.
After beating Broner, Pacquiao openly challenged Mayweather to a rematch during the post-fight interview. Mayweather, who was sitting at ring-side, cooly dodged the Filipino senator's challenge. Afterward, Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, followed Floyd's lead and sidestepped all the questions regarding a possible rematch between Pacquiao and Mayweather.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is reportedly slated to fight in Japan again in July. But it's not going to be against Manny Pacquiao. According to recent reports, Mayweather will step into the ring against an unnamed Japanese boxer in another exhibition boxing match. The same report suggests that Mayweather is planning to have 4 or 5 more exhibition matches that would let him earn a neat $80 million.
That being said, a fight between Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr. is unlikely to happen this year despite the two fighters posting their separate training videos. However, Pacquiao and Mayweather Jr. have been in a situation like this before. The first match between Pacman and Money May followed the same tune: the fight was on, then off again, and then on again.
But Pacquiao and Mayweather did eventually fight. Mayweather easily defeated Pacquiao in a lopsided affair. The latter, however, claimed that he has been fighting injured at that time. However, boxing experts are of the opinion that Mayweather would still have won even if Pacquiao were to fight in optimum condition. Then again, experts have been wrong before. And it seemed like Pacquiao is determined to prove the naysayers wrong.
Again, recent reports suggest that a Pacquiao-Mayweather rematch isn't happening. At least, not yet. The training videos and the subsequent buzz around them only suggest that there is still a lot of interest between Pacquiao and Mayweather, or rather, a clamor for an immediate fight between the two future Hall of Famers. If they are to fight again, then it would have to be billed as the Rematch of the Century. After all, Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are the best at what they do.
