Manny Pacquiao hopes for rematch with Floyd Mayweather in his next fight

Manny Pacquiao

MANNY PACQUIAO hasnโ€™t given up on snaring a rematch with Floyd Mayweather.

โ€œI donโ€™t know know yet whoโ€™s my opponent next,โ€ Pacquiao said. โ€œWeโ€™re still negotiating right now about the rematch with Floyd Mayweather. So Iโ€™m hoping for that.โ€

Mayweather and Pacquiao staged their long awaited showdown in May of this year. It had been a tortuous negotiating process to seal the deal but the fight itself did not contain as much intrigue with Mayweather ultimately a clear winner on points. While complaints and excuses donโ€™t sit well with boxing fans, immediately after the fight Pacquiao brought up a shoulder injury and it emerged that the state athletic commission had blocked him from taking a pain killing injection.

That though might not be enough to generate interest in a rematch, but there are other stumbling block. Top Rankโ€™s Bob Arum, Mannyโ€™s promoter, did not include Mayweather in the three man shortlist for Pacquiaoโ€™s next fight. He is looking at one of Amir Khan, Tim Bradley or Terence Crawford.

Plus, there is the factor that Mayweatherโ€™s team are maintaining that Floyd is not planning a return to the sport. Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, simply tweeted: โ€œFloyd Mayweather is RETIRED, end of discussion.โ€

Thereโ€™s no denying though that currently both Mayweather and Pacquiao generate more widespread attention than the new generation of boxers who will take over from them at the top of the sport. A rematch does have a certain appeal to the general public. While Mayweather-Pacquiao didnโ€™t turn out to be the fight of the century, it was a box office smash hit. And the MGM is opening a new 20,000 seat arena in Las Vegas in spring 2016, which would be an ideal venue for the rematchโ€ฆ

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