Manny Pacquiao's continued persistence is slowly paying off, as Floyd Mayweather Jr. is gradually acclimating to a possible rematch with the Filipino champ. After their recent social media spat, Jr.'s adviser Leonard Ellerbe declared "zero interest" in fighting Manny Pacquiao last week. However, things are slowly taking shape.

On Saturday, the former undisputed welterweight champion was interviewed following Gervonta Davis's win against Ricardo Nunez. Jim Gray asked if Jr. has plans to make a boxing comeback, the 42-year-old American boxer replied that “We don’t know … only time will tell.”

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao
Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao's highly-lucrative bout was an underwhelming one. In this picture, Mayweather exchanges punches with Pacquiao during their welterweight unification championship bout at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 2, 2015. JOHN GURZINSKI/AFP/Getty Images

It's Mayweather's first public statement about possibly going back to the sport. His camp has wholeheartedly denied that he's interested in any fights, let alone a rematch with Manny. His recent comment opens up a lot of possibilities, including the long-awaited rematch between the two superstar pugilists.

Ellerbe has previously denied that Floyd is not interested in fighting Manny, even asserting via boxingscene.com that "he has zero interest." He added that the undefeated boxer "has been doing this all his life... he's given the sport everything."

Mayweather Jr. was at ringside when Pacquiao scored a 12-round split decision victory against Kieth Thurman. Before the winner was announced, Floyd quietly left the MGM Grand Garden Arena with his posse possibly to avoid reporters who would have asked about a rematch between him and the Filipino senator.

A few days after the fight, both boxers were embroiled with a social media war of words. Mayweather claimed that "he's the boss" and Pacquiao is now his employee. Manny is now co-promoted by Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions. Haymon is well known as one of Floyd's closest confidants and business partners.

Mayweather maintained that Manny's career "has been built off his association with my name." The Filipino champ replied, urging the American to a rematch before ending his statement with "if you want to be relevant again."

Floyd answered back, belittling Pacquiao's $10 million guaranteed purse from his bout against Keith Thurman. He added that "I just made $9 million in under three minutes playing around in an exhibition with a pizza delivery guy."

The back-and-forth affair has fueled talks about a possible rematch, but it was continually turned down by Floyd's camp. Observers also noted that Jr. had no business in attacking the Filipino unless he's creating hype for Pacquiao, Mayweather Jr. 2.

Their 2015 megafight has been deemed as the boxing's most prosperous match, reports have confirmed that Mayweather took at least $180 million and Pacquiao, $120 million.

Boxing