Manny Pacquiao has called out Floyd Mayweather for a rematch of their 2015 bout.
Pac-Man returned to the ring after a one-year hiatus on Sunday, stopping Lucas Matthysse in seven rounds for a Welterweight title belt and scoring his first knockout since a TKO of Miguel Cotto eight years ago.
Soon after the fight, the 39-year-old revealed he has already turned his attention to Mayweather, who retired for a second time with an undefeated 50-0 record after beating UFC star Conor McGregor in June last year.
"Mayweather? If he decides to go back to boxing then that is the time we are going to call the shots," he told reporters after his victory, as reported by ESPN.
"I have the belt, so it's up to him. If he wants to come back in boxing let's do a second one."
The Filipino and "Money" fought in Las Vegas in May 2015, with the American winning by unanimous decision to retain the WBA Super Welterweight title and the WBC welterweight crown, as well as claiming the WBO welterweight title.
Following his second retirement, speculation Mayweather might return to the ring abounded and the 40-year-old did little to dismiss it.
In February, the 12-time world champion hinted he had held talks over a "billion dollar" return.
"There's been talks," Mayweather confirmed in an interview with Forbes. "We don't know if it's a boxing ring or maybe an octagon."
Pacquiao, however, indicated he had some contingency plans should a rematch against Mayweather not materialize. He name-checked Amir Khan and Vasily Lomachenko.
The Briton returned to the ring in April after a two-year absence and stopped Phil Lo Greco in 39 seconds, while Lomachenko won by technical KO against Jorge Linares in May to secure the WBA Super Lightweight title.
"Yes that's a potential opponent; Amir Khan," he added.
"There's a lot of potential opponents there, like Lomachenko, there are so many fighters that have potential to be my opponent next."
Lomachenko is almost 10 years younger than Pacquiao, but the Filipino, who claimed the 60th win of his career in 69 bouts, insisted he still feels 27.
However, to fight the Ukrainian—who has won nine of his 12 professional bouts by KO—Pacquiao would have to move down closer to 140 pounds, with Lomachenko instead having to come up from 135 pounds.
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Dan Cancian is currently a reporter for Newsweek based in London, England. Prior to joining Newsweek in January 2018, he ... Read more
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