Stephen Espinoza: Mayweather-Pacquiao sequel possible if fans demand it

Stephen Espinoza, the head honcho at Showtime Sports, says he's recently spoken to Floyd Mayweather and got the impression that Mayweather might be willing to come back to fight an opponent who draws significant interest from the fans - like, say, Manny Pacquiao for instance.

Espinoza, who saw Pacquiao beat Bradley over the weekend, says that Pacquiao's latest performance could be the very driver behind additional interest in a rematch against Mayweather.

"I thought Pacquiao looked good, looked as good as he has looked in the last three or four years," Espinoza told RingTV.com on Monday. "He was active. He showed the power. He was quick. But really in terms of a Mayweather rematch, it's really up to the audience, to the fans and the writers. I know from talking to Floyd - if there's demand for a particular fight -€” I think he will give it strong consideration. But I think this is one where we're not going to put the cart before the horse. If people are interested in that fight then I think they'll make their voices heard and we'll start working on it."

As for the much speculated fight between Mayweather and Adrien Broner, Espinoza just doesn't see the interest there from Mayweather. So that mainly leaves another Pacquiao bout, a "super fight" that didn't fulfill the expectations of many fans the first time around. Surely a rematch between Mayweather and Pacquiao wouldn't gross the $600M that it did the first go 'round, but even if it only did a quarter of that - it's still a much bigger fight than any other that could be made in the sport right now.

"My sense is that Floyd is waiting for something to sort of peak his interest," Espinoza said. "And if there is somebody out there that people want him to fight and there's a big push or if he sees a fighter rise up that's all of a sudden a big challenge to him - I think that's what he's looking for, something that will motivate him to get back into camp."

Ultimately there doesn't appear to be anything that piques Mayweather's interest quite like flashing dollar signs, but if what Espinoza says is true, are there enough out there to lure him back into the ring?

There are at least some number of fans who are happy to move on from the Mayweather-Pacquiao era of boxing, but how many of them would still tune in for a rematch if it were to happen? Maybe we'll never know...or maybe, just maybe, we'll find out sooner than you think.