Manny Pacquiao has challenged five-weight world champion Floyd Mayweather to a rematch, calling for the American to come out of retirement.
Pacquiao, 40, lost to Mayweather in 2015 by unanimous points decision, but has since regained a version of the world title.
He previously said he “cannot retire with peace of mind” without a rematch.
“Get back to the ring and we will fight again if he wants,” Pacquiao said after he beat Adrian Broner on Saturday.
The Philippine great retained his WBA world welterweight title with a convincing unanimous points win over the American in Las Vegas.
“If he wants to come out of retirement, then announce it and challenge me. I’m a champion and I don’t pick any opponent,” Pacquiao said after the fight, which 41-year-old Mayweather attended.
“My message is I’m still active and if he goes back to the ring and wants to challenge me, I’m a champion.
“I’m just waiting to see who will challenge me, who will challenge [for] my belt.”
The 2015 fight between the two multi-weight world champions was billed as the ‘Fight of the Century,’ but after a tame defeat, which saw Mayweather add the WBO welterweight title to his WBC and WBA titles, Pacquiao said he had been suffering with a shoulder injury.
Tickets for the bout reached prices of as much as $350,000 (£232,000) and American fans were charged almost $100 (£66) to watch on television, with millions more watching across the world.
Mayweather made a return to the sport on New Year’s Eve, taking just 140 seconds to beat Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in an exhibition boxing bout worth a reported $9m.
Source: AFP
| Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. |
