Fight promoter Bob Arum says boxer wants a second showdown with American rival in Las Vegas after undergoing shoulder surgery
Manny Pacquiao is happy to enter into a rematch with Floyd Mayweather after shoulder surgery, his promoter Bob Arum has said
Mayweather has suggested that he would offer his rival a second fight next year and Arum admitted that, although it was an attritional negotiation between the Pacquiao/Top Rank/HBO and Mayweather/Showtime camps for the May 2 fight, he believes they could make a deal for a rematch.
"I think we now know what the pitfalls were," Arum told ESPN.com. "And, ultimately, with all the aggravation and trouble, look at the pot of gold that we both produced. I think they're will probably be less aggravation in a rematch. We understand each other better now. There's a real possibility it could work even better."
Arum suggested that Mayweather forgo a September fight and simply wait for Pacquiao and fight him in April, which is when the MGM plans to open a new 20,000-seat arena in Las Vegas. "I think the wisest course of action is for Floyd to wait," Arum said.
Pacquiao, who was due to be in the Philippines today, has stayed in LA to have surgery to repair the shoulder injury he has had since he fought Oscar De La Hoya in 2008. It will be a three-hour operation and the 36-year-old will be released from the private hospital on Thursday.
Pacquiao will not be allowed it train until at least November.
"We first have to make sure the rotator cuff heals well," Arum said. "Dr. ElAttrache is a famous surgeon, one of the best in the business, so I'm confident the surgery will work and if it does why wouldn't we entertain a rematch?"
Pacquiao, who suffered the injury three weeks before the fight, failed to disclose the injury to the Nevada State Athletic Commission on his pre-fight medical questionnaire, which specifically asks if the fighter has a shoulder injury.
Pacquiao faces possible discipline from the Nevada commission.
Arum believes the fight would sell again. "The fact that he won the fight, what does that mean? The two of them together created such a bonanza - numbers we've never seen before and without Manny who could Floyd create a bonanza like that with?
"And without Mayweather who is Manny going to fight to create as much money? Maybe we should get more than the 40 percent. They need each other to create this kind of money."
Arum also provided more detail on the nature of the injury which apparently limited Pacquiao's effectiveness in last weekend's bout.
"It's a recurring kind of injury," he said. "It can kick up again, which it did in sparring (2½ weeks before) this fight. They gave him a series of treatments that enabled the pain to go away and the when he went into the fight, he was feeling absolutely no pain and using his right arm.
"I thought initially it was in the third round but it was really sometime in the fourth round that he re-injured it. The doctor said this is the time for him to no longer have to live with that, to repair it and it will be as good as new."
The projections for the pay-per-view are looking to be over 4 million in the USA. "We've never seen anything like what we are seeing with the numbers so far," Arum said
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