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Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.
- A social media feud between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao has prompted the sport's media to run rumors of a rematch.
- But there are many reasons to doubt the likelihood of a second fight between the welterweight boxers.
- The most obvious of all is that Mayweather has a keen interest in the success of Pacquiao as the Filipino fights for a company that Mayweather has ties to.
- Mayweather's right-hand man Leonard Ellerbe, the CEO of Mayweather Promotions, continues to laugh off rematch rumors. "Floyd out there chilling!" he said.
- There are plenty of other athletes Pacquiao can challenge himself against, ones that heighten his legacy should he win, or at least be competitive in.
- Neither Mayweather or Pacquiao need each other any more. A rematch just isn't going to happen.
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Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are at each other's throats on social media but are never going to fight a rematch of their 2015 dud despite the headlines already generated around the world.
Pacquiao showed freakish athleticism to beat the previously undefeated Keith Thurman in Las Vegas on Saturday, knocking the welterweight down in the first round, and almost out for good with a body shot in the 10th.
It all took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in front of Mayweather, who was sat ringside at the time.
In the four days since, the media has begun talking up a rematch, heightened further by the pair's social media dueling.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Mayweather said that Pacquiao's "legacy and career" was "built off its association with [the Mayweather] name," adding that when the two rivals fought in 2015, he "won so easily that everyone had to eat their words."
Pacquiao replied: "You come to my fight and then use my name in a post but I'm the one that is trying to stay relevant? If you want to be relevant again … #MayPac2."
Forbes reported that the "social media beef makes [a] rematch seem inevitable." Fox Sports said it's a match "made in money heaven." And Sporting News said a second bout between the two just "makes sense."
Only, it is not inevitable and it does not make sense even if it did generate $100 million.
Here are five reasons why a rematch is never going to happen:
1: Mayweather's right-hand man, Leonard Ellerbe, says it won't
Leonard Ellerbe and Mayweather were both ringside for Pacquiao's decision win over Thurman. As CEO of Mayweather Promotions, Ellerbe was the man responsible for promoting the entire show.
"[Mayweather] thought it was a great fight," Ellerbe told the YouTube channel Fight Hype after the bout. "He was not surprised. We all know what Manny Pacquiao brings to the table. He's a legend. He's doing it at the highest level."
Fight Hype then asked Ellerbe if Mayweather had an interest in returning to the ring. "Absolutely not," Ellerbe shook his head, laughing, "absolutely not."
"Floyd over there chilling! Suited and booted, looking sharp, like a young Isaac Hayes."
2: Pacquiao signed management terms with Al Haymon last year, the man who made Mayweather a wild success
As the figurehead of Mayweather Promotions, it made sense for Mayweather to also be ringside, supporting the event.
Mayweather founded Mayweather Promotions in 2007 as a vehicle to promote his own fights after exiting his contract with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum.
Since Mayweather retired from combat sports in 2017 with a 10th round knockout win over Conor McGregor, the company has been looking at hyping a new athlete who can carry the company forward.
It has been developing the super featherweight world champion Gervonta Davis, but when Pacquiao signed with the boxing manager Al Haymon, who helped guide the career of Mayweather, it brought both fighters closer together last year, giving Mayweather Promotions a marquee name to get behind through Haymon's firm Premier Boxing Champions.
Pacquiao and Mayweather even announced a stunning rematch on social media last year, one that never actually came to fruition, but helped elevate Pacquiao's name to the forefront of the wider sporting news coverage, ahead of his January 2019 showcase against Adrien Broner.
It is not out of the question that Haymon, Ellerbe, and Mayweather do not mind these rematch rumors dominating the sporting media as it only serves to elevate Pacquiao's name once again, ahead of his next fight, potentially against the winner of the upcoming welterweight bout between Errol Spence Jr. and Shawn Porter in September.
Photo by Bill Tompkins/Getty Images
Errol Spence Jr. is one of the most exciting names to emerge in the post-Mayweather era.
3: Dope testing could be an issue
While Manny Pacquiao and Keith Thurman were both tested for drugs for Saturday's fight, they did not sign up to the more comprehensive Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) testing, Boxing Scene reported.
If VADA is hired to dope test athletes ahead of an event, it will complete "unannounced testing at any time during the eight weeks prior to a scheduled fight," according to association's official website. It says standard athletic commission testing is inadequate "and not a deterrent."
Mayweather, meanwhile, insisted on additional doping tests in many of his fights. For Mayweather to A: get back into the ring, and B: fight Pacquiao, he'd insist on more comprehensive anti-doping regulations in the contract.
4: Pacquiao doesn't need Mayweather
People may miss Mayweather, but boxing is thriving in his absence.
There are compelling and intriguing matchups to be made at heavyweight, cruiserweight, middleweight, and, of course, welterweight.
As Pacquiao is signed with Haymon's firm Premier Boxing Champions, an organization that represents many top tier welterweights, the Filipino has plenty of options to occupy his time in 2019 and beyond.
He has ruled out a fight against his former Wildcard Boxing Club teammate Amir Khan, but could defend his WBA welterweight world title against rising contender Jamal James.
He will also be targeting the winner of September's tussle between Errol Spence Jr. and Shawn Porter, which would be a title unification that brings together the belts from the IBF, WBC, and WBA.
Should Spence Jr. beat Porter, a fight between him and Pacquiao would be seen as a potential passing of the torch. But if Pacquiao can beat another one of the top, younger guys, his legacy only enhances.
5: Mayweather doesn't need Pacquiao
Just take one look at Mayweather's Instagram and you can see him living his best life. He plugs his Las Vegas gentleman's club Girl Collection, flaunts his wealth, and even travels to the ends of the planet just to take a photo.
He's a 42-year-old man who has been retired for two years. The last time he fought, he took on an athlete who had never boxed professionally before in what was a glorified semi-professional exhibition.
Conor McGregor, though a gifted striker in mixed martial arts, looked a rugged novice against Mayweather but still managed to land a surprising amount of shots on the American boxer. This was not because McGregor was good but more a sign that Mayweather had deteriorated with age and was far beyond his prime years as an athlete and a prizefighter.
Mayweather has aged another two years since. He doesn't need another training camp, more countless rounds of sparring, and another 12-round battle. Not when he can make $9 million taking on random kickboxers in Japan like Tenshin Nasukawa in obscure mixed martial arts shows, and not when he is just three years from becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer in the hallowed halls at Canastota, New York.
Read more: Floyd Mayweather's fight against Tenshin Nasukawa was 'fake,' according to a former UFC heavyweight
Mayweather can make easier money elsewhere, and if he returns for another pro fight, his ability to enter the Hall - where he would join the greats of the fight game like Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Willie Pep - gets reset to five years from his next retirement.
Photo by: The Ring Magazine via Getty Images
Muhammad Ali was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
He is within kissing distance of a celebration of his entire career at the Hall of Fame, in an event that could be promoted as a must-see show in itself. And one more fight only pushes that event further into the distance.
Read more: Floyd Mayweather should disappear into retirement forever, because a comeback could end in tears
Mayweather has, of course, made coming out of retirement a business. But he will have people around him who know that there is a very clear and obvious danger that the more you come back, the likelier it is that you will come back to a defeat, tarnishing that unbeaten legacy that took more than two decades to build.
And there is not a price in the world that is worth jeopardizing that for, so why bother?
.@FloydMayweather You come to my fight and then use my name in a post but I'm the one that is trying to stay relevant? 🤔 if you want to be relevant again... #MayPac2
- Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) July 24, 2019