Manny Pacquiao Next Fight Should Be Rematch vs. Floyd Mayweather
Heading into Saturday night, it wasn't hard to follow the plan at work. As always, all you had to do is follow the money trail.
After more than a half-decade of fits and starts, featuring nearly constant bickering reminiscent of a middle school hallway, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao finally agreed to "The Fight of the Century," "The Fight to Save Boxing" or whatever you wanted to call it.
The more accurate name, however, was always "The Fight That Gives Us One Big Cash-Out." To think the timing of their agreement was a coincidence is to not give Top Rank Promotions or Mayweather's camp enough credit. Mayweather and Pacquiao chose now because it was the last possible moment and somehow the best possible moment.
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Whether by hook or by crook, Mayweather and Pacquiao's period of inaction created a perfect storm. It became something of a boxing cousin to Justin Timberlake's 20/20 Experience album—an extravaganza so regularly discussed and hyped over a long period of time that it was impossible to fail.
Their live-gate, pay-per-view ticket prices and other fees would shatter records unthinkable in 2010—a period when the country was digging itself out of a recession.
"We wouldn't have gotten a fraction of these numbers if we made the fight five years ago," Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said, per ESPN's Dan Rafael. "It turned out that we're doing the fight at the right time, I guess, not that we're geniuses for waiting this long."
Both fighters came into the bout standing to make nine-figure paydays, shattering previous single-night records for a boxer. And, like Timberlake, there has always been a sequel in the making—even if neither side has ever made the announcement.
How do we know? Simple deductive reasoning. Mayweather agreed to fight Pacquiao with two contractually obligated bouts remaining on his Showtime contract. If there is anything we know about Mayweather, it's that he is in a constant game of one-upmanship with himself.
Does anyone really think Mayweather would agree to fight Pacquiao in May and then take a $100 million (or more) pay cut to fight a lesser opponent in September? Of course not. Mayweather looked at the landscape and capitalized on what may wind up being a quarter-billion-dollar haul.
Pacquiao's three straight wins coming into Saturday night did enough to rebuild his reputation following his knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012. They were against lesser opponents, yes, but they were enough to shift the conversation from "Should Manny retire?" to "Can Manny Knock Out Floyd?"
From there, it's elementary. Give the fight some typical Mayweatherian buildup and watch the money pile up. The lead-up to the first fight was always going to book itself.
The next step, however, came Saturday night: give the fans enough to justify a rematch. If there is anything boxing fans know, there is only one thing more profitable than a major prizefight: the sequel to a thrilling prizefight. But, hell, even if the sequel isn't quite as profitable as the first, it was up to Mayweather and Pacquiao on Saturday to make it nearly so.
As for whether that happened, the jury's still out. Mayweather earned a unanimous-decision victory that became a pure domination as the fight went along. Pacquiao began the fight strong in the early rounds, landing power punches and forcing Mayweather against the ropes. It looked at times like this would be a redux of Mayweather's first bout with Marcos Maidana.
By the end of the bout, though, it was clear Mayweather was the superior fighter. He not only landed more punches overall, but in many ways he was also the more aggressive combatant.
Pacquiao looked confused at times with how to attack, and by the late rounds, we were clearly watching a typical Floyd Mayweather bout. It speaks to Mayweather's brilliance that he was able to pull it off, but we should all be curious to see the reaction from common fans. UFC champ Chris Weidman and Andy Mineo shared their thoughts regarding a rematch:
The reality is that a rematch has long been inevitable. From a purely financial perspective, there's no reason for either guy to back out. Neither Mayweather nor Pacquiao will ever see the paycheck they'll get once the pay-per-view buys and such are in from Saturday night. They would take an exponential pay cut, something neither fighter will or should want to do at this point in their careers.
Mayweather vs. Pacquiao 2 wouldn't have nearly the hoopla surrounding it, but it has a simple sell: Pacquiao's redemption. Repurpose the clear loss as a learning experience and have the "aggressive" Pacquiao come back for the second fight.
Mayweather vs. Pacquiao has always been the "One Last Hurrah" for each guy. One last epic prizefight. One last epic chapter in their historic careers. One last financial haul that will set themselves and their future generations up for life.
On Saturday, we saw Chapter 1. Odds are, there will be a Chapter 2. It'll be up to Mayweather and Pacquiao to make us all want it.
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