Mayweather to Return to Challenge Pacquiao?
According to reports, Floyd Mayweather plans to return to boxing to challenge Manny Pacquiao.
Pacquiao demolished Oscar De La Hoya, proving himself more than capable at the welterweight limit, where Mayweather reigned supreme until his surprise retirement last year. Mayweather defeated De La Hoya in May of 2007 by split decision, then knocked out Ricky Hatton in December, prior to retiring.
Pacquiao is currently planning on fighting Hatton in May or June of 2009, but a Mayweather return could change those plans.
According to BoxingScene.com, Mayweather informed family members of his plans after the Pacquiao – De La Hoya fight, and told them that he plans on reuniting with his father, Floyd Mayweather, Sr. to train him for the fight. Floyd has been working with his uncle, Roger, and plans to use both of them together to train him for Pacquiao.
A Mayweather return to the ring was expected by many, and with Pacquiao’s dominant performance, this mega-fight is among the biggest that can be made in the sport. Surely a Pacquiao-Hatton fight is mouth-watering, but a Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is a true blockbuster. I would love to see Hatton take on Pacquiao for the excitement of the fight, but no boxing fan in the world would pass on Pacquiao vs. Mayweather.
Depending on weather or not Mayweather takes any type of tuneup (doubtful), it is possible that Pacquiao could face Hatton in May or June in England, and if he wins, face Mayweather in December. But the possibility of a loss to Hatton could be enough to skip that fight and take the bigger match with Mayweather.
Either way it works out, 2009 is bound to be a busy and interesting year for Manny Pacquiao. The scenarios I see for Pacquiao in ‘09 are Hatton in the summer, Floyd in the winter; or Hatton in the summer, and a third fight with Juan Manuel Marquez in the winter; or Mayweather in the summer, and either Hatton or Marquez in the winter. No matter what, 2009 will be an amazing year of boxing in the 135-147 pound range.
If I could have my way, we’d see Hatton-Pacquiao in the summer and Floyd takes a tuneup around the same time. If Floyd and Pacquiao prevail, the mega-match is set for December. If Hatton upsets Pacquiao, perhaps there’d be interest in Hatton-Mayweather II. I doubt that part, but if Hatton beats Pacquiao, it’s definitely more interesting.
How about Hatton fights Marquez at 140 in the summer, opposite of Floyd and Manny, and the winners meet up. I think any combination of these four fighters (minus Hatton-Mayweather immediately) is intriguing. Hatton-Mayweather II is only interesting if Hatton has Floyd Sr. training him and probably only really interesting if Hatton beats Pacquiao.
And while we’re at it, Antonio Margarito is interested in fighting Pacquiao. The next year is going to be very interesting for Manny Pacquiao.
Recent Posts
- Mayweather-Pacquiao: 50/50, 147, 8 Oz. Gloves
- Your 2009-2010 NCAA Playoff Bracket
- Mayweather and Pacquiao Talks Begin For May
- Mountain West Forced to Sign BCS Agreement
- The Failures of NBC Sports
- DirecTV, Extra Innings Update for 2009
- Best Pitching Performance of Our Lifetime Goes by Relatively Unnoticed
- Urban Meyer Demands Former Gators’ Support
- Delaware Senate Approves Sports Betting
- Roy Jones-Anderson Silva Still Not On, Even in UFC
Categories
Privacy Policy
Discussion
No comments for “Mayweather to Return to Challenge Pacquiao?”
Post a comment
You must be logged in to post a comment.