Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao was one of the most-anticipated fights in combat sports history. But was it too late to occur? What if it happened when there was no injury and they were in their respective primes? Well, then we would have gotten an electrifying match bigger than the UFC 306 Noche even! Boxing fans had been salivating for this matchup since 2009! Then finally it happened in 2015. But Mayweather vs. Pacquiao may have missed its window for “fight of the century” status.

But why did this fight not happen at the right time? Well, for a bunch of reasons, sadly. Firstly, both fighters were at their peaks but in different times. There were also negotiation disagreements that even included extensive testing protocols. And Mayweather and Pacquiao’s career strategies were different. ‘Money’ wanted to wait for the right moment to maximize the financial gain and enhance his legacy. It was perhaps because of public pressure and accusations of Mayweather ducking Pacquiao that this fight finally happened in 2015. And Joe Rogan isn’t a fan of great fights being delayed because of extended contract negotiations.

“You get ridiculous things where this fighter wants 75%, the other fighter wants 25%. They have to figure out whether or not they can make this happen. And the fighters like fu— that I want 50-50. And the promoters are getting involved and they don’t want you to fight that guy. Fight the number one mandatory contender.”, Rogan said to Peter Berg in a recent episode of The Joe Rogan Experience.

Recalling the Mayweather vs Pacquiao fight, Joe Rogan added, “Some great fights never take place or they take place too late. Like Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. They fought too late, I mean if that fight could have been arranged by Riyadh season, they probably would’ve caught them both in their prime, and it would’ve been chaos.”

Berg and Rogan even mentioned how ‘PacMan’ was not in his prime by the time he got to ‘Money’, on top of being injured and needing shoulder surgery before the fight. It was a pretty serious issue. For the unversed,  Mayweather and Pacquiao met in the highest-grossing boxing pay-per-view affair of all time in May 2015, an event that rendered exceptional revenue.

A host of well-known celebrities flocked to Las Vegas to witness this pair clash, and the spectacle was reminiscent of Roman gladiators going to war. The event generated more than $300m in total revenue, with Mayweather getting $180m of that after he won. Pacquiao reportedly took a $120m payout—life-changing fortune for both fighters. However, ‘Pac Man’ was not at his 100% best going into such an important fight of his life. Nevada officials had also rejected Pacquiao’s request to take an anti-inflammatory shot before the fight, with the association blaming him for not disclosing the injury sooner to them. 

But what if things were different? What if they fought in their prime without injuries and in the Riyadh season under the guidance of Turki Al-Sheikh? Well, Rogan spoke about a rematch back in 2023, when rumors were swirling around about the same.

Joe Rogan confesses about a rematch between Mayweather and Pacquiao 

Joe Rogan and Ice Cube were completely on board for the boxing legends to lock horns in the ring once again. The UFC color commentator hosted the rapper in an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience and the duo conversed for more than 2 hours and spoke about several topics. One of them was the wish for a rematch between the boxing greats.

Even though Mayweather won in 2015, many people thought that Pacquiao was the rightful winner. Naturally, these comments made way for a rematch conversation. Rogan brought this up in #2004 of JRE while speaking to Ice Cube. He said, “They’re talking about him fighting Pacquiao. They’re doing it again. I’d watch that.” Ice Cube responded, “Yeah. I mean, hell yeah. I don’t think age should keep you from checking out somebody you know who’s a master.”

In fact, in 2024 Pacquiao had revealed one condition for a rematch. The 46-year-old said that if this fight has to happen again, it needs to be an exhibition. “I can fight Floyd again. He wants an exhibition,” is what he said to Seconds Out in an interview. Mayweather retired in 2017 with a 50-0 record while Pacquiao fought last in 2021 when he lost the WBA welterweight title fight to Yordenis Ugas in Las Vegas.

So in the stage of late 40s, an exhibition match was feasible for ‘Pac Man’. He also wanted an awarded winner rather than the typical exhibition style of calling it a draw. He said to Seconds Out, “I said ok I can fight [an] exhibition, but there has to be [a judges’] decision.”

So will this ever happen? Would you watch Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather fight in an exhibition match? Do let us know in the comments down below.