About Mayweather-Pacquiao 2….

You want to see that again? Manny versus Floyd..really? I'm seeing talk of it all over the place, and we saw that story by Mitch Abramson of RING which posited Floyd could maybe be lured off the hammock to do a sequel.

That came from Showtime boxing boss Stephen Espinoza Monday and I delved in further Wednesday, at a presser to hype Showtime's fights Saturday night (topped by Gary Russell Junior's featherweight title defense against Patrick Hyland). I told Espinoza that I don't see anyone around 147 pounds testing Floyd to any great degree…and isn't there a risk, Stephen, if the rematch is put together, and once again, fails to meet the hype?

If they fight again, and Manny is seen as more of a threat and only wins, say, three rounds, couldn't that do measurable damage to the sport's rep and standing? Does he WANT to sell that one?

Espinoza told me that if there is public demand he would try and put that together. “It's worth doing if the public wants it..if there is a demand..absent that (no fight),” he said. He'd need there to be a public call for it, really, he told me.

Anyway, Floyd is not seeming at all urgent in the desire to come back. He hasn't explicitly told Espinoza that he's warming to come back…but when he hears of Floyd analyzing this fighter and that fight, he just gets the sense that the competitor in him wants to compete. He noted that Floyd likes to be unpredictable, so really, he doesn't pretend to know the guy's possible timeline to return, or not.

“He likes a challenge,” Espinoza said, and that urge, he thinks, has not by any means left him.

I told Espinoza I don't see Floyd getting challenged at around 147, and I think so highly of his talent, I think he beats anyone at 154, and 160 too.

But anyway, as of TODAY, the big two of Mayweather and Pacquiao, are both retired. How long will that be the case? I don't think we finish the year with that same setup, let's put it that way.