Mayweather vs Pacquiao 2 could very well happen in 2017. Stranger things have happened in boxing. That’s for sure.
Following Manny Pacquiao’s points win over Jessie Vargas in Las Vegas, Floyd Mayweather was pictured at the fight near ringside and a flood of speculation ensued surrounding a potential rematch.
Here’s five quick reasons why Mayweather vs Pacquiao 2 wouldn’t be a big surprise in 2017:
Timing
Pacquiao looked fairly impressive in his win over Vargas, considering he was 37 years old and also had to balance a full-time political job as a Senator coming into the fight.
But he’s not a spring chicken anymore, and neither is Floyd Mayweather.
They’ll know that if there is any chance to make Mayweather vs Pacquiao 2 a reality that from a timing perspective in both of their advanced athletic careers, that 2017 more than likely will have to be the year for it at this point.
Interest
Despite the criticism of the first fight and the overall negativity that surrounded the talk after their first get together, the mass of social media activity talking about Mayweather being at Pacquiao’s fight with Jessie Vargas suggests there is still significant interest between the two athletes being linked together.
Journalists also immediately brought up the idea of the rematch in questions in Pacquiao’s post-fight press conference with Vargas.
It might not be as big a pay per view bonanza as the first fight but there’s certainly enough interest there to still make it a huge event.
Money
What is it that Floyd Mayweather calls himself? Yeah, ‘Money’.
As the guy who won the first figh,t if negotiations do transpire for a Mayweather vs Pacquiao 2 showdown, Mayweather will indeed be the ‘A-Side’ in such discussions and will only propose the fight if there is significant reward in it one would imagine.
And financial reward there would be. No doubt about it.
Unfinished Business
There was an overall bad taste left in everyone’s mouth after the first fight. That much cannot be denied.
Sure the event was a success event in terms of pay per view buys, but as a spectacle it simply didn’t live up to the hype. Not even remotely.
Many thought it was up to Pacquiao to make it into a fight at the time as Mayweather possesses a slick counter punching, defensive boxing style, but when Pacquiao mentioned a shoulder injury after the bout as a reason why he couldn’t do so, fans were a little cheesed off.
Overall, both were to blame in equal measures in reality for it not living up to the ‘Fight of the Century’ billing. Unfinished business between the two could make it happen once more to settle the score.
Fans
Lastly but certainly not least, the fight could happen as a way to try to give something back to the fans.
Perhaps Mayweather and Pacquiao might acknowledge that they owe the fans a better fight and event after their first encounter, and maybe they might give a discount on the pay per view or tickets for the event – or even give some away to fans?
Ultimately, if the fans want to see these two get in the ring again next year, they will. Without the fans there is no professional sport in the first place.
