Pacquiao-Horn rematch in ‘jeopardy’
LAS VEGAS — After defeating Conor McGregor via a technical knockout in the tenth round of their match on Sunday, August 27, Floyd Mayweather Jr. said he’s retiring “for sure.”
Now with a 50-0 for most wins without a loss or draw, Mayweather said his fight with the one of the biggest stars of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) was his last.
“This was my last fight,” the 40-year-old Mayweather said during the post-match interview. “For sure. Tonight was my last fight. Tonight I chose the right dance partner to dance with.”
Manny Pacquiao, who lost to Mayweather in their match last year, has expressed interest to settle a score with the undefeated boxer. Their rematch, however, seems unlikely to happy as Mayweather reaffirmed his retirement.
“I think we gave the fans what they wanted to see,” said Mayweather, who’s usually criticized by his defensive style but went out aggressively against Mcgregor.
“I owed them for the Pacquiao fight. I had to come straight ahead and give the fans a show. That’s what I gave them,” he added.
In his social media account, Pacquiao extended his congratulations to Mayweather.
“Respect to McGregor for taking a chance but congrats to Floyd on #50!” the Filipino boxer tweeted.
Horn promoter frustrated
Meanwhile, Jeff Horn’s promoter is apparently losing his patience with Pacquiao, who still hasn’t reconfirmed his planned rematch against the Australian boxer.
“To say he (Pacquiao)’s having second thoughts is pissing me off,” Dean Lonergan of Duco Promotions told The Daily Telegraph. “If he carries on again, it would be my advice to move on and forget about him. We’ve already booked the venue for November 12.”
Last week, Philippine Tourism Secretary Wanda Teo announced that their rematch will possibly take place at Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan sometime in December.
This contradicts Top Rank Promotion’s Bob Arum’s earlier statement that rematch would be held again in Brisbane, Australia on November 12.
“When Bob Arum saw media reports out of the Philippines that representatives of Manny Pacquiao were trying to get the fight in Manila, Arum gave Manny Pacquiao until Saturday, August 26 to confirm that he would recommit to fighting in Brisbane,” Lonergan said.
He said that Pacquiao “has yet to reconfirm and as such now has put the Horn rematch in jeopardy.”
“On that basis, Top Rank, DUCO promotions, Tourism Events Queensland and Brisbane marketing are now reassessing their options,” Horn’s promoter added.
Arum, for his part, stressed it is impossible for the rematch to happen in the Philippines as they are contractually obliged to stage it in Australia. He is reportedly set to fly to Manila this week to get a definite answer from Pacquiao.
Pacquiao lost his World Boxing Organization (WBO) Welterweight title to Horn through a unanimous decision last July 2. (Dana Sioson/AJPress)
