WS Chronicle

Manny Pacquiao defeated Keith Thurman last Saturday, July 20, becoming the new WBA welterweight champion. Following that fight, Floyd Mayweather Jr. took to social media to weigh in on the fight, which created a back and forth between himself and Pacquiao. Perhaps we are setting the stage for another mega fight between the two legends.

On an Instagram post, Mayweather wrote, “I find it real ironic how every time Pacquiao’s name is brought up in the media, my name is always attached to it. This man’s entire legacy and career has been built off its association with my name and it’s about time you all stop using my brand for clout chasing and clickbait and let that man’s name hold weight of its own.”

Later that day, Pacquiao responded on Twitter with, “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 …”

We can all assume from that last sentence in Pacquiao’s response that he is suggesting a rematch to their 2015 fight that Mayweather won in a unanimous decision.  

Not to be outdone, Mayweather responded on Instagram, saying in part, “Bottom line, I make more money than you; I beat you, then I signed you! I was only at your fight supervising you, my employee, as any real BOSS would do.”

This war of words could escalate enough to entice the public to push for another fight. I am hoping that does not happen. We have other fights that are more intriguing and I don’t want this fight to take any attention away from those.

In the first fight, Pacquiao only landed 81 punches the entire fight. According to Pacquiao and his camp, he was suffering from a right shoulder injury. Mayweather used his usual fight strategy of hit but don’t get hit and with Pacquiao suffering from his injury, he was unable to muster any sort of sustained attack. Needless to say, it was highly disappointing.

Financially, it might not be such a bad idea to have those two in the ring once again. The first fight delivered a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and made a lot of money for all parties involved. Since Mayweather retired, no one has been able to garner much attention from the general public to bring attention to the sport, which is sad.  

I may be in the minority, but I am not sure I want to sit and watch another snooze fest between two 40-year-old boxers. Their fighting styles just don’t mix well for an entertaining fight. Mayweather has been criticized for fighting boxers past their prime and this will not stop that narrative, but he has always been about making money and this fight would make money.

Let’s hope this is just words exchanged between two aging boxers. This is a sad day for boxing when the biggest fight possible is one that has a very good possibility of being a disappointment. We must find a way to get boxing back to the mainstream. That must start with the powers that be marketing their stars more efficiently, because outside of boxing fans, no one knows any of the current pound-for-pound best in the sport and that is a shame.