No rematch

Why in the world is there still talk of a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather rematch? The world has so many more pressing problems right now than to bother about two old boxers trying to settle a question they already had the chance to answer but so shamelessly blew through no fault of anyone but their own, and still got filthy rich in the process. And now they want another chance?

Never mind Mayweather because he always had a damaged outlook in life and is beyond repair. But Pacquiao is not a hopeless case and should be able to know better that even if the stupid rematch happens, it will not be the same anymore. It will not answer the question everybody was asking before. If at all, it may still make a lot of money, though not of the May 3 kind. But that would just be about it.

So, is it now all just about the money? If it is, then both Mayweather and Pacquiao can both go to hell. Who do they think they are going to fool? The only ones who will be lured to see such a fight are the gamblers who would bet on anything, and those who simply want to see two men pound each other, regardless of who they are and what all their fighting stands for.

As to those who genuinely wanted an answer to who was the greatest between the two greatest fighters of an era, they have long forgotten the need for an answer and have moved on with their lives. There are far greater quests in this short life than to keep waiting to see who is the greater between Pacquiao and Mayweather long after the question has outlived its need for an answer.

Frankly, the world no longer cares, though certainly it did one time, and paid dearly to find out nothing. In that one time, the world seemed to stop for that one fight. Never has the imagination of the world been seized with so much interest. Mayweather-Pacquiao May 3 eclipsed anything that was to happen anywhere on earth on that day.

For that one fight, people paid for boxing tickets whose prices were unheard of since boxing for pay was invented. Hotel rooms, at rates that soared to obscene heights, were booked way in advance. People dropped whatever the heck they were doing to see the fight wherever and however they can -- live, live streaming, pay-per-view. At home, in restaurants, in public squares and gyms.

In short, the fight, for all the cost it took and the hassle it caused, happened not to be refought but to be settled right then and there. But what happened? Mayweather refused to fight. And Pacquiao fought injured. Worse, he breathed no word of his injury, thus depriving everyone who supported him with their bets, their prayers, their pride of a good and even fight.

Pacquiao admitting after the fight that he was only 60 percent of his capability and wits because of the shoulder injury he harbored in secret was worse than a man cheating on his wife. At least a wife always has the suspicion at the back of her head. But not only was the entire Filipino nation behind Pacquiao with all their trust, so was the entire world that trusted in a good fight.

There should be no more rematch because the Mayweather-Pacquiao May 3 fight was a no-fight. If it ever was one, it was a fight that world would want to forget. The world would not want to keep remembering how it was made a fool by people who were clearly in it for the money and nothing else. And now these same people want more of the same. Instead of allowing a rematch, Mayweather and Pacquiao ought to be even in jail for the greatest rip-off in boxing history.

jerrytundag@yahoo.com

 

 

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