By Radio Rahim
In a recent article on krikya360.com, Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum - who promotes Manny Pacquiao - mentioned the possibility of a rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. taking place in Pacquiao's backyard of Manila. Arum made the statement in response to the growing rumors of a Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch in the fall.
Pacquiao announced his retirement from the sport last month, following his trilogy decision win over Timothy Bradley at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao's retirement was motivated by his pursuit of a full-time political career. A few weeks ago, Pacquiao - who was already a congressman - secured a senatorial seat in the Philippines. He admits that he does have ambitions to one day become president of his country.
Manny's career rival, Floyd Mayweather Jr., announced his own retirement last September after beating Andre Berto, also at the MGM Grand. Recently, Mayweather has been hinting at the possibility of a ring return in the fall.
"Let him come over to Manila [for the rematch] and maybe Manny will take off from a session in the senate. If he comes to Manila, I'm sure the senate will accommodate Manny," Arum said to krikya360.com.
The biggest money fight for Mayweather is a rematch with Pacquiao. Last May, they came together to generate $600 million in revenue and a record-shattering 4.6 million buys on pay-per-view. Even if the rematch did 50% of that number, it would be one of the most financially successful fights in boxing history.
The rematch rumors once again surfaced with a lot of steam, after Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach revealed that Mayweather paid him a visit, more than once, at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood, California. According to Roach, they discussed the first fight from last May but there was nothing kicked around for a potential rematch.
Arum explained that he was only joking around regarding the angle to stage a modern day 'Thrilla in Manila.' He fully admits that there is no possibility that Mayweather would ever travel over to Manila to fight Pacquiao.
"I don't think I would have any chance of selling Mayweather on coming to Manila to fight Manny Pacquiao. But obviously I did [that statement] for fun," Arum explained to krikya360.com.