Philippine boxer Manny Pacquiao considers of holding a battle with Floyd Mayweather Jr in the upcoming 2019 as a rematch of their 2015 mega fight. Pacquiao, 39, revealed this after being a speaker at Oxford University, England. According to him, this repeat fight should be done before both of them decide to retire from the boxing world. Mayweather Jr beat Pacquiao with numbers when the two met in Las Vegas in May 2015. The fight became the most expensive fight in the history of professional boxing.
Pacquiao will face Adrien Broner in January 2019, while Mayweather Jr. has just signed a contract to face Japanese kickboxer, Tenshin Nasukawa on New Year’s Eve on December 31, 2018. “The possibility (of the match) is very big because Floyd has returned to boxing ring,” said Pacquiao. Mayweather was last in the ring when defeating Irish UFC star Conor McGregor in August 2017 to a 50-0 score.
“He will fight in December, and I will be in January. So it’s likely that next year we will discuss the possibility of a fight again,” Pacquiao said. “Our second battle will determine who deserves to win. At the first meeting he was declared victorious even though he did not throw a lot of punches. Moreover, I suffered a shoulder injury. But this time, there will be no reason,” continued Pacquiao.
Pacquiao’s appearance as a speaker at the scientific forum in Oxford was criticized by some Filipino communities. He was accused of using the momentum for his campaign which was ambitious in following the Philippine presidential election in 2022. “In his speech, Mr. Pacquiao called those involved in the practice of homosexuality (his behavior) worse than animals,” protested from the Philippine community.
More recently, with his role as Senator, Mr Pacquiao has been pushing for the reimposition of capital punishment, ie. the death penalty, with a specific focus on drug related. The Philippines Society have expressed that they hope his invitation will not be seen as a validation of his performance as a legislator given that his stances on many issues have seen to undermine ‘fundamental human rights’.
ASL
