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Mayweather's next move may depend on pay-per-view

LAS VEGAS - Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have boxed himself into a corner by outboxing Marcos Maidana in their welterweight rematch.

LAS VEGAS - Floyd Mayweather Jr. may have boxed himself into a corner by outboxing Marcos Maidana in their welterweight rematch.

And it might open the door - if just a crack - for the fight with Manny Pacquiao that boxing fans have been craving for years.

"If the Pacquiao fight happens, it happens," Mayweather said Saturday night after disposing of Maidana for the second time in four months. "You can ask the same questions and get the same answers. I call my own shots."

That Mayweather is even acknowledging the possibility of a fight with Pacquiao is significant, since his previous stance had been to ignore his Filipino rival.

A lot will depend on the pay-per-view numbers for the second Maidana fight. What they say about Mayweather's drawing power likely will determine his next steps.

Mayweather had little trouble against Maidana in their rematch, moving from side to side and frustrating the Argentine while winning many of the early rounds. But the crowd at the MGM Grand booed at times because Mayweather wouldn't engage in the brawl Maidana desperately needed.

In the end, two ringside judges scored it 116-111 for Mayweather, while the third had it 115-112.

"I felt sharper in the first fight; my rhythm was off," Mayweather said

Mayweather was in control of the bout until the eighth round, when he claimed Maidana bit him on the hand in a clinch after first trying to hit him below the belt. He said he couldn't use his left hand the rest of the night because it went numb.

Maidana denied biting Mayweather, and said Mayweather was sticking his glove in his eye in the exchange.

"How can he say I bit the glove with my mouthpiece?" Maidana asked. "I'm not a dog."