Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will finally collide on May 2 at MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas, but this early boxing fans are already talking about a possible rematch between the two boxing superstars.
Will a rematch happen in September this year regardless of the result of the upcoming showdown?
According to boxing analysts Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports, a rematch makes sense especially if Pacquiao hands Mayweather the first defeat of his career or if the unbeaten champion escapes with a close win, similar to what happened when the reigning pound-for-pound king gave Marcos Maidana a rematch last year.
A second fight also makes business sense for both fighters because they will easily get another big paycheck. However, Iole believes a rematch will not happen after the two sides - Mayweather Promotions and Top Rank Promotions - engaged in another contract dispute over the past several weeks.
Earlier this week, Top Rank Promotions CEO Bob Arum revealed that no contract has been signed because of the dispute in terms. Mayweather Promotions fired back and said that Arum has no right to take control of the promotion as indicated on the terms that were agreed upon earlier this year.
Mayweather and Arum have not enjoyed good relationship since the reigning pound-for-pound king parted ways with his former promoter. Iole believes the tension between the two boxing icons is deeper this time because of the dispute in contract terms.
"After the two sides hashed through the very real problems that plagued this promotion, one thing more than any other became agonizingly obvious: There's no chance whatsoever that there could possibly be a rematch," Iole wrote. "The bitter feelings between the sides are as intense, maybe more, than ever before."
Boxing legend George Foreman is also unsure if a rematch will eventually happen later this year, especially if Mayweather loses to Pacquiao in their Cinco de Mayo weekend showdown.
Mayweather, the reigning World Boxing Council and World Boxing Association welterweight champion, will put his perfect 47-0 record on the line and the Grand Rapids native previously said that he wants to retire undefeated.
If he loses to Pacquiao next month, Foreman, a former heavyweight world champion, thinks that it could devastate Mayweather and might force him to decide not to fight again.
"You lose your perspective on who you are as a human being," Foreman said. "This could devastate him as a boxer, not as a man but as a boxer. He might have to go out in the country somewhere if he lost."
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