Manny Pacquiao proved that he still has a lot of gas left in his tank on Saturday, and Showtime Sports executive Stephen Espinoza thinks the Filipino boxing icon might earn another crack at Floyd Mayweather.
Pacquiao, who ran away with a convincing unanimous decision win over Timothy Bradley on Saturday, has made it no secret that he wants a rematch with Mayweather. The former pound-for-pound king took a unanimous decision loss to Mayweather during their record-breaking showdown, which reportedly earned around $600 million in revenue.
According to Espinoza, while both fighters have already announced their retirement, the two boxing superstars might eventually agree to face each other again if the fans pressure Mayweather to give Pacquiao another shot.
"I know from talking to Floyd -- if there's demand for a particular fight -- I think he will give it strong consideration," Espinoza told RingTV. "But I think this is one where we're not going to put the cart before the horse. If people are interested in that fight then I think they'll make their voices heard and we'll start working on it."
Mayweather, who called it quits after his unanimous decision victory over Andre Berto in September, has been firm on his stance that he will not face Pacquiao again because he feels he has nothing to prove. But after Pacquiao's win, Espinoza said that there could be growing call for the rematch in the coming weeks.
Freddie Roach also told reporters in a recent interview that he is still hoping Pacquiao will get another shot at Mayweather. The Hall of Fame trainer thinks Pacquiao will perform better in the rematch because the former eight-division champion is healthier now compared to last May, when he was dealing with an ailing shoulder.
"I certainly hope so," Roach said via BoxingScene, when asked about the possibility of staging Mayweather vs Pacquiao 2. "I would love for Manny to fight him one more time, 100 percent healthy, which he definitely is right now. I would love to see that, yes."
Roach thinks that at the end of the day, it will all boil down on money because both fighters are "spenders" in different manners -- Pacquiao for his charity works and Mayweather for his luxurious way of life.
