A rematch of the richest fight of the century has edged closer after Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said Manny Pacquiao would be open to a rematch with Floyd Mayweather.
On Tuesday, Mayweather said he would be willing to fight Pacquiao again in a year’s time, once the Filipino has recovered from shoulder surgery.
Arum, who promotes Pacquiao, admitted that Saturday’s fight in Las Vegas – which Mayweather won on a unanimous points decision – had been hard to put together but the rewards were difficult to ignore. Both fighters pulled in well over $100 million for the bout.
“I think we now know what the pitfalls were,” Arum told ESPN. “And, ultimately, with all the aggravation and trouble, look at the pot of gold that we both produced. I think there will probably be less aggravation in a rematch. We understand each other better now. There’s a real possibility it could work even better.”
Mayweather has put out contradictory statements about his future. During the promotion of Saturday’s fight he said he would retire after a final bout in September, in which Britain’s Amir Khan is a possible opponent. However, on Tuesday he told ESPN’s Steven A Smith that he was willing to fight Pacquiao again in a year’s time.
Arum says Mayweather should put aside any plans for a September fight and wait to face Pacquiao again next April. “I think the wisest course of action is for Floyd to wait,” Arum said.
Attractive spectacle
A rematch could be a more attractive spectacle than Saturday’s contest, where Pacquiao was hampered by a shoulder injury that curbed his ability to attack Mayweather.
Arum said Pacquiao and his team would have to monitor the effects of surgery before thinking seriously about a rematch.
“We first have to make sure the rotator cuff heals well,” Arum said. “[Pacquiao’s surgeon] Dr ElAttrache is a famous surgeon, one of the best in the business, so I’m confident the surgery will work, and if it does, why wouldn’t we entertain a rematch?”
Pacquiao faces problems other than recovery from surgery, however. The Filipino failed to declare his shoulder injury to the Nevada State Athletic Commission before the fight, something he was obliged to do.
Caused controversy
This has caused controversy among some fans who paid huge sums for tickets to the bout and believe they were deprived of seeing both fighters at the peak of fitness.
Three million customers in the US alone paid $100 to watch the fight on pay-per-view television, while two Las Vegas residents have filed a $5m lawsuit over Pacquiao’s failure to disclose the injury.
“Defendants prior to and at the time the plaintiffs and the class decided to purchase tickets; purchase pay per view showings or wagered on the event the defendants knew and had full knowledge and information that defendant Pacquiao had been seriously injured and was suffering from a torn rotator cuff,” the lawsuit reads. “Defendants further know that such injury would severely affect his performance.”
The Nevada Athletic Commission has already said it is not happy with how Pacquiao’s team dealt with the injury.
“The first I heard of this was at 6:08pm when he [Pacquiao] arrived in the locker room,” the commission chairman, Francisco Aguilar, said. Guardian Service
