Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. got Filipino fans asking questions after he was seen wearing a cap whose color scheme appears to be inspired by the flag of the Philippines, the country that produced his old rival, Manny Pacquiao.
The 41-year-old fighter with a 50-0 record was seen at a news conference for his fight with Tenshin Nasukawa scheduled for early 2019 wearing a cap from his The Money Team clothing line with a blue, red and yellow color scheme, the dominant colors of the Philippine flag.
The cap also had what appeared to be an allusion to a sun surrounded by three stars, the most distinguishable feature of the flag.
Mayweather’s headgear has expectedly created some buzz among Filipinos, who have long regarded Pacquiao as hometown hero and rare sporting great. Some are coming up with explanations for the questions raised about Mayweather’s fashion choices.
Some believe that Mayweather, who has incorporated his business know-how into his public image, is actually making money by wearing the cap.
@FloydMayweather wearing a filipino inspired cap is all biz – luring pinoys to still watch him inspite of him taking the Jap instead of @mannypacquiao #FloydKnowsBusiness #money
— nino cruz (@onindapogi) November 5, 2018
Some believe Mayweather was only sending a message to Pacquiao.
Mayweather was last seen wearing Philippine flag-inspired clothing during a media workout in April 2015, weeks before the highly-touted bout with Pacquiao he would eventually win via scorecard. The splash of red, blue and yellow on the shirt he wore was similar to some shirts from Pacquiao’s own clothing line.
Rumors about a rematch of 2015’s “Fight of the Century” swirled after a video of the two trading barbs at a music festival was posted on Mayweather’s Instagram account.
Pacquiao recently said that the rematch was a “big possibility” and that it could be scheduled to take place in May or July 2019. The boxer-turned senator said that he could not retire with a peace of mind due to his previous loss to Mayweather.
Mayweather, who is slated to join the Rizen Fighting Federation, has denied agreeing to a match with Nasukawa, a 20-year-old fighter with a 27-0 record in kickboxing and 4-0 in Mixed Martial Arts.