Floyd Mayweather coy on rumoured rematch with Manny Pacquiao: ‘He shouldn’t have spoken about it’
Floyd Mayweather played coy this week when asked about a rumoured rematch with Manny Pacquiao, amid reports that the old rivals could fight in an exhibition match.
With 4.6m reported buys, Mayweather’s 2015 bout with Pacquiao remains the highest-grossing boxing pay-per-view of all time. However, many fans lamented the dynamic of the fight and claimed it had occurred five years too late, as the American comfortably outpointed the Filipino.
Mayweather last boxed professionally in 2017, stopping UFC champion Conor McGregor to retire unbeaten, while Pacquiao’s last pro fight was a points loss to Yordenis Ugas in 2021. Mayweather, however, has since fought in numerous exhibitions against the likes of YouTuber Jake Paul and kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, and a rematch with Pacquiao has been the subject of recent reports.
Speaking on The Pivot Podcast on Tuesday (20 February), Mayweather said: “When Manny Pacquiao spoke about that, he shouldn’t have, because there’s a time and a place for everything.
“I’m not gonna say he’s right, and I’m not gonna say he’s wrong. But it’s so crazy: When he spoke about it, I could’ve easily come out and said: ‘You spoke about it, I ain’t have to say nothing.’
“Just by you saying my name, they gave me a cheque for $4m – I don’t like to throw certain individuals under the bus, because we don’t do that.
“I want you guys to go check out Manny Pacquiao, when he got upset a few times, when he said: ‘Oh, Floyd, you’re using my name.’ But remember, he got famous because they said: ‘This could be the guy that could possibly dethrone the king.’ Did it happen? Absolutely not. Was it easy? Absolutely.”
Per reports, Pacquiao, 45, and Mayweather, 46, could fight each other on a Rizin card in Japan. Rizin is a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion.
