Showtime exec ‘open’ to Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch

Showtime Sports executive vice president Stephen Espinoza is not ruling out the possibility of a rematch between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

In their long-awaited fight three weeks ago, Mayweather outpointed Pacquiao by unanimous decision to stay undefeated and become the unified welterweight champion. The bout broke financial records including Pay-Per-View buys with $4.4 million and is expected to generate over $400 million in revenue.

With the “Fight of the Century” taking over five years before coming into to fruition, coming up with an encore would be easier said than done especially with the kind of situation Mayweather and Pacquiao are in.

Mayweather, who has one bout left in his contract with Showtime, had said he plans to do his farewell fight in September. During that time Pacquiao, who have said he wouldn’t be stepping into the ring this year, would still be in the midst of his recovery from a shoulder surgery.

But Espinoza said the “demand” for a rematch between the two of the best boxers of their era could be a factor to consider.

“I think we have to remain open to it,” Espinoza, who also acts as the network’s general manager, told Multichannel News. “There’s a lot of chatter on both sides about the possibility – once Manny successfully recovers from [shoulder] surgery, if there’s a demand and if Floyd is still active or would consider coming back to being active then it would be a topic of conversation. But it will be driven by demand.”