The announcement of the rematch between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, who will face each other for the second time in a professional bout on September 19, has divided fans’ opinions. Some consider the fight a farce with no real sporting value, while others are curious to see the two great champions meet again, even though both are obviously far from their prime. Former super middleweight and light heavyweight world champion Andre Ward, now a respected analyst, believes that this rematch could turn out to be more entertaining than their first encounter. Here is what he said on All The Smoke’s Hall of Game podcast:
“Two older guys sometimes don’t have the energy and the legs to be moving as much, and the reflexes aren’t as sharp. They’re a little bit dull. But these guys are still very, very good.
“They’re probably still better than most fighters at their age, or a lot of fighters in the game today. … I don’t think Floyd’s going to have the energy to move the way that he did before.
“You could get a more entertaining fight. You could get more of a back-and-forth scrap, which is what a lot of people wanted [in the first fight]. And it’s not a guarantee that this fight goes the distance, given their age and what their current punch resistance is.
“In your late 40s, you don’t know how you’re going to take a clean shot with eight-ounce gloves. You think you know, but you don’t fully know.
“Personally, I liked the first fight. It was a high-stakes chess match where neither fighter could really make any mistakes. Floyd did make a couple of mistakes, and he paid for it. Pacquiao hurt Mayweather on two occasions, visibly. And maybe he hurt him other times, and that we’re not aware of.
“Mayweather almost had to be perfect on the night because Manny was quick and explosive. Every punch Manny landed, even the ones that were blocked, you heard them. They were hard shots. Floyd couldn’t make any mistakes. That fight, to me, was exciting in that way. Every fight is not exciting the same way.”