Floyd Mayweather watched from ringside as Manny Pacquiao showed much grit, determination, muscle and sinew to vanquish Jesse Vargas and reclaim the WBO welterweight title at Las Vegas on Saturday.
Pacquiao, who marked his return to the sport, just a month shy of his 38th birthday, completely dominated the proceedings against Vargas, an opponent 10 years younger to him, and won the prestigious title by unanimous decision from all the three judges at the Thomas and Mack Center.
Mayweather, who retired last year after winning what was the world’s richest bout against Pacquiao fuelled speculation of a rematch of the lucrative encounter by making his presence felt on the sidelines on Pacquiao’s request.
"Yes I invited him to come tonight," Pacquiao said of Mayweather. However, when questioned whether he will fight Mayweather next, he left an element of a cliffhanger when he said, “We will see.”
Mayweather who was accompanied by his daughter to the match, in which his former rival cruised to a one-sided victory, arrived before the fight began but was quick to leave in the end, even before the fighters cleared the ring.
Pacquiao even scored one for the history books, as the win gave him the World Boxing Organization welterweight title for a record fourth time. He was at his best in the match, rendering Jesse hapless with his sheer power, skills and speed.
“Fighting Manny Pacquiao is like playing a very fast game of chess,” opponent Jesse Vargas said post the fight. “You have to be alert at all times. There were a lot of punches coming in.” When asked if he was keen on witnessing Mayweather-Pacquiao lock horns again, he said, “Of course, I wouldn't mind seeing it again. We are still very interested in seeing what could happen again."
“I’m so happy with my performance. I tried every round to knock him down. I’ll fight whoever the people want me to fight. I am not going to pick my opponent,” Pacquiao said, but his promoter Bob Arum refrained from offering a commitment on rematch against Mayweather.
"Floyd Mayweather is retired. As far as we're concerned he's retired and we respect that," Arum said at the post-fight news conference.
He did, however, mention other potential rivals for Pacquiao which included the likes of Vasyl Lomachenko, Terence Crawford and Keith Thurman.
