After watching Manny Pacquiao beat Keith Thurman on Saturday night, Floyd Mayweather Jr. took to social media on Tuesday to criticize his former opponent and Pacquiao clapped back.
“I find it real ironic how every time Pacquiao’s name is brought up in the media, my name is always attached to it,” Mayweather wrote in a post on Instagram. “This man’s entire legacy and career has been built off its association with my name and it’s about time you all stop using my brand for clout chasing and clickbait and let that man’s name hold weight of its own.”
Later on Tuesday, Pacquiao responded via Twitter.
.@FloydMayweather You come to my fight and then use my name in a post but I’m the one that is trying to stay relevant? 🤔 if you want to be relevant again… #MayPac2
— Manny Pacquiao (@MannyPacquiao) July 24, 2019
The 40-year-old Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) beat Thurman in Las Vegas by split decision last weekend for the WBA welterweight title, renewing some calls for the 42-year-old Mayweather and Pacquiao to fight again.
Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) earned a unanimous decision win over Pacquiao in their first fight in May 2015. Pacquiao said he was hampered by a right shoulder injury while landing only 81 punches in that bout. The massively hyped fight delivered a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys but was largely panned by most boxing fans.
Last September, Mayweather posted on Instagram that he’s “coming back to fight Manny Pacquiao this year another 9 figure pay day on the way” but the bout never materialized.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.