They spent his most successful years together, surging to the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, but ex-Manny Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum is unsure his former star can land a rematch with Floyd Mayweather.
Pacquiao, who fought under Arum from the early 2000s until 2017, has been vocal about securing a second bite at Mayweather.
Nursing a shoulder injury in 2015, Pacquiao took on Mayweather at less than one hundred percent. He was subsequently dominated over the distance.
‘Pacman’ was nowhere near the force we know he could be, something he’s proved to this day, even at the age of 40.
The Filipino Senator defeated Keith Thurman, a champion ten years his junior, in Las Vegas last July. The veteran is now sitting proudly on top of the welterweight pile.
On the other hand, Mayweather takes pride in flaunting his wealth and constant holidays in the sun on social media.
Only this month, ‘Money’ declared his whole life was ‘a vacation’ on Instagram. This means Pacquiao could be further away than ever from nailing down a return.
Arum firmly believes that, in their twilight years, Mayweather and Pacquiao should take full advantage of their pulling power. The pair stand to make a pot of around $25o million between them for a Pay-Per-View blockbuster.
Mayweather would undoubtedly take home nine figures. Pacquiao would then pocket a late eight-figure sum.
The only thing stopping a deal is Mayweather himself. The American is notorious for wanting to control where and when he fights.
So with Pacquiao and the fans pushing so hard for ‘MayPac 2’, it would not be in Mayweather’s nature to adhere to their wishes.
Bob Arum questions Floyd Mayweather
A five-weight world title holder, Mayweather would only want negotiations to begin on his terms. But Arum thinks Pacquiao should make the first move.
“The fact is, they’ll make a lot of money and nobody gets hurt. They can both laugh their way to the bank. So if Manny can make that fight then, of course, he should take it,” Arum told World Boxing News exclusively.
Asked whether he sees Floyd, another fighter he handled during his lengthy career, returning to ring – Arum added: “That’s up to Floyd.
“Remember, Floyd’s made an enormous amount of money throughout his career. He has an enormous amount of money, so the question is, does Floyd want to spend time, real quality time, training for a fight with Pacquiao, a serious fight?
“Does he want to spend all that time and effort to up his lifestyle to fight a Pacquiao? You’d have to ask Floyd that question,” Arum concluded.
The debate rages on after Mayweather announced a possible Pacquiao exhibition fight in Japan. A social media statement which Pacquiao later denied knowing anything about.
As things stand, Mayweather v Pacquiao 2 is no closer to becoming a reality. Fights for the latter with Mikey or Danny Garcia seem far more feasible.
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