Boxing fans are waiting for WBA world champion Manny Pacquiao's next fight. Various reports say it could be in June or July against Errol Spence, but others speculate it could be a rematch between him and Floyd Mayweather Jr. Read on for details.
Shortly after Errol Spence successfully defended his welterweight world title last Saturday against WBC lightweight titleholder Mikey Garcia, Spence called out the Filipino boxing legend, believing now is the perfect time for them to have a match, Boxing Scene reported.
Spence said Pacquiao is only a few fights away from retirement, and it is best to fight him before he hangs his boxing gloves up for good. Additionally, he feels that it "makes sense" to fight Pacquiao now for another reason: his pay-per-view record.
The IBF belt-holder and now WBC diamond welterweight strap-wearer said Pacquiao holds the world record for the most tickets sold at AT&T Stadium for his fight with Adrien Broner. He said he wants to break that record and, perhaps, sell enough tickets to get 70,000 seats filled.
Pacquiao, a few moments after Spence was declared the winner in his fight against Garcia, went up the ring to congratulate him. Right then and there, he himself said that he doesn't mind fighting against Spence for his next bout, Fight Sports reported.
Both boxers feel ready to fight one another in the ring, likely around July after they both receive enough training and conditioning.
What about Spence VS Mayweather?
Speak For Yourself asked Spence if he had any plans of fighting Floyd Mayweather. He said fighting Mayweather is "where the real money's at," but plainly said that that fight won't be happening.
Spence said Mayweather is now retired and has no plans of stepping back into the boxing ring one more time for another fight. He explained that Mayweather's not afraid of having a blemish on his boxing record (zero losses), but is very smart with how he goes about what he does.
"Floyd's a smart businessman," Spence said.
Now, what about MayPac 2?
With all the reports pointing to a Pacquiao-Spence fight in July, it seems unlikely for the Filipino boxer to have a rematch with the retired Mayweather. One rumor, however, seems to point out to one last bout between the soon-to-retire and the already-retired.
ESPN boxing analyst @BarbosaBox tweeted (via Boxing News 24) that the soon-to-be Hall of Famer will have a fight against Mayweather on "Showtime PPV and sooner rather than later!!!" It is believed that this fight will take place in the U.S. in June.
@BarbosaBox explained that Mayweather could make easy money fighting exhibition bouts in Japan, but those won't bring in as much money as one last bout with Pacquiao. Of course, a rematch -- or an exhibition match -- between the two remains to be seen, so stay tuned.
