Floyd Mayweather, Jr has fought his last fight in the ring, but he has not yet finished his war against his critics.
Manny Pacquiao wants to end his career on a bang and there is no bigger bang than a rematch with the retired Money May.
These provide the backdrop of the back-and-forth allegations that the two future Hall of Famers are exchanging. Manny Pacquiao has declared, on a video on his official Facebook page that they are indeed in "negotiating" a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
"I don't know yet who's my opponent next but we're still negotiating right now about the rematch with Floyd Mayweather so hoping for that," the Filipino boxer stated.
However, this was refuted by Stephen A. Smith of ESPN's First Take. Smith claimed to have received a text from Floyd Mayweather himself. His statements on the the issue, (h/t Boxing News 24).
"As a matter of fact, that's exactly what he [Mayweather] said. I'm reading from the text here dated October 9th. 'It's totally false. I'm not fighting anymore, period,'" Smith stated. "So why Manny Pacquiao continues to bloviate to the public about a potential rematch just speaks of desperation, because obviously he just wants to redeem himself."
He added: "I asked him about Manny Pacquiao, saying they were discussing a rematch, and that was his response. What Leonard Ellerbe said to me, he said to the media, then I spoke to Floyd directly that day and he texted me that day and he said exactly what he said and asked me to relay it to the public, which is why I did it."
So Floyd is sticking with his original statement. He is retired and he's not fighting anymore.
Still fans won't let him walk away that easily. Opinion pieces in Boxing News 24 accused that Mayweather could be "afraid of a healthy Manny Pacquiao." The notion is reinforced by other opinions that a rematch would be the "smart move" as declared by Bleacher Report.
What seems to be likely is that Manny Pacquiao wants the rematch, and no one seems to blame him for that. The Mayweather camp calls him desperate but it only results in accusations that he is afraid. If the scenario seems familiar, that's because it has definitely happened before.