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11/22/2024 04:48:50 am

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Boxing News & Rumors: Showtime Exec Interested In Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao Rematch

Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao

(Photo : Reuters) Showtime exec Stephen Espinoza is reportedly open to a rematch between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

Showtime executive Stephen Espinoza is reportedly interested in arranging a second dance between pound-for-pound greats Floyd Mayweather Jr. (48-0, 26 KOs) and Manny Pacquiao (57-6-2, 38 KOs) if there would be enough clamor from the fans and if the pay-per-view king would decide to come out of retirement for it.

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Espinoza was talking to Sports Illustrated's Chris Mannix when he said that he is a "hardcore fan" of the sport and that he "would always want to see it, want to see it as many times as they would do it," referring to a match between arguably the two greatest boxers of their generation.

The cable and television network's executive vice president also said that even though he believes that a fight between the two will always be a "matchup for the ages," the outcome would always be the same, with Mayweather beating Pacquiao unanimously after 12-rounds of boxing.

However, he admitted that there seems to be no more interest from Floyd himself and the public of a Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch.

"I can tell you at this point what I've heard from him (Mayweather) is that he's not that interested," said Espinoza. "I don't think he believes that there's any intrigue in it. And he's removed the mystique around the Pacquiao fight, and I don't think he believes that many people would find it interesting to see him do that again."

Boxing News 24's Chris Williams noted that having Espinoza say he is willing to do a MayPac again is a good sign that a rematch may actually happen in the future. As long as the big bosses are okay with the fight, then the possibilities of it happening increases.

The decision will now come down to Mayweather if he wants to fight Pacquiao again.

Mayweather Promotions CEO Leonard Ellerbe recently declared that a MayPac rematch is "absolutely" not going to happen, as reported by Boxing Scene.

Ellerbe also insisted that the Saturday night fight with Andre Berto would be the final fight of his boss' career. He said that "Floyd has generated hundreds of millions of dollars" and he is "set for generations", unlike other top fighters who retired broke and was forced to come back.

Recently another controversy had plagued the "Fight of the Century" with Mayweather being accused of taking illegal IV's on the eve of his match with Pacquiao. The unbeaten American expectedly denied the claims.

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