Will two of boxing's all-time greats -- Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr-- come out of retirement for a final bout?
While Pacquiao reiterated he stayed retired after a crushing victory over Timothy Bradley last week, the Mayweather camp has said the same, adding that their arch rival's latest performance 'doesn't mean anything'.
However, fans and enthusiasts are vouching for a rematch and experts and speculators are not ruling out another face-off between the great rivals. Many still hope a putative rematch would compensate for the dud show of last year.
Here are the official versions from the two camps:
Floyd Mayweather's advisor Leonard Ellerbe : "Doesn't mean anything as far as I'm concerned. Floyd's retired. He's been very adamant about that, and there's been zero discussions about coming out of retirement and I hope he stays retired. We haven't had one conversation about Manny Pacquiao. [Mayweather's] retired. There's nothing to talk about."
Manny Pacquiao: "As of now I am retired. I am going to go home and think about it, but I want to be with my family. I want to serve the people [of the Philippines]."
"I have a commitment to my family that I'm going to retire after this, and we don't know," Pacquiao told ringside reporters, according to Reuters. "If you ask me about if I'm coming back, maybe I enjoy by being retired and serving and helping the people."
Prior to the April 9 match with Bradley, which Pacquiao won handsomely, there were strong suggestions that he would come out of an announced retirement should he win.
"I do think Manny has more quality fights in him. His power, speed, work ethic are still superior to most others," his coach Freddie Roach had said.
The Philippine boxer scored an impressive win against Bradley in a unanimous 12-round decision, knocking down his opponent twice in the process.
His loyal fans relished the way the boxer-turned politician shook off the disgrace of losing miserably to Mayweather in last year's fight, which had been billed as the bout of the century.
Big money
The question now is if Pac-Man will try to avenge last year's humiliation. Observers say apart from name and ego, money can play a big role as both camps sit down to take a decision on re-match.
Last year's unimpressive match left Mayweather richer by $220 million, Pacquiao amassed $120 million. Before the bout against Bradley, Pacquiao was guaranteed to win at least $20 million.
"I'm not going to say Floyd won't fight again," Mayweather Sr. told LA Times recently. "[The new arena], that might [convince him], too. He might be persuaded," he added.
Separately, the 39-year-old himself told Spike TV, "We don't know what the future holds."
Boxing expert Bob Arum has said a Pacquiao vs Mayweather fight could happen if one of the sides breaks out of the shell and expresses the willingness.
"It's close to 50/50 but probably leaning more toward the fight happening ... more likely than not. If the match was available, I believe [Manny] would come back for that match. If either man agrees to fight, my feeling is that they won't be able to resist," Arum told Boxing News 24.
