John Locher/Associated Press

Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao Exchange Barbs in Social Media Beef

Scott Polacek

Floyd Mayweather Jr. was in attendance for Manny Pacquiao’s split-decision victory over Keith Thurman on Saturday in Las Vegas, but that doesn’t mean the two are suddenly friends.

Mayweather lashed out at Pacquiao, boxing fans and analysts in a NSFW message on his Instagram page:

"I find it real ironic how every time Pacquiao's name is brought up in the media, my name is always attached to it. This man's entire legacy and career has been built off its association with my name and it's about time you all stop using my brand for clout chasing and clickbait and let that man's name hold weight of its own. For years, all you heard was that "Floyd is afraid of Manny Pacquiao". But what's funny is, when we finally fought, I won so easily that everyone had to eat their words! All of the so called boxing experts, critics and jealous American 'fan base' either went mute and ran for cover or made every excuse in the world as to why I should give Manny Pacquiao a rematch. My take on all this bulls--t is that y’all are just upset that I broke Rocky Marciano's record and hate the fact that a Black, high school dropout outsmarted you all by beating all odds and retiring undefeated while maintaining all my faculties simply by making smart choices and even smarter investments. Ultimately, I will always have the last laugh!"

Pac-Man responded by hinting at a potential rematch between the two fighters:

The idea of a rematch between the undefeated Mayweather and Pacquiao seemed far-fetched at best in 2017 when the latter lost in controversial fashion against Jeff Horn. It would have been easy for the only fighter to win titles in eight divisions to call it a career, but he has since defeated Adrien Broner, Lucas Martin Matthysse and Thurman.

Pacquiao dropped Thurman in the first round on Saturday and unleashed a combination of speed and aggressiveness throughout the match. Thurman gained slight momentum in the middle rounds, but the 40-year-old victor regained control in the ninth and put an exclamation mark on his win with a powerful body shot in the 10th.

It wasn't difficult to envision the version of Pac-Man that was on display Saturday going round-for-round with Mayweather, who has fought only once since 2015. That bout came in 2017 and was against UFC fighter Conor McGregor, who was notable in star power but not boxing prowess.

That fight gave Mayweather his 50th victory in 50 tries, including his 2015 win over Pacquiao.

Mayweather has no obligation to fight Pacquiao again and will forever have bragging rights from his head-to-head victory if he doesn't. He even said he "will always have the last laugh" in his Instagram post, which is difficult to counter given his undefeated record.

The rematch may never happen, but Pacquiao seemed up for the challenge in their most recent back-and-forth.

   

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