Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao will meet again more than 11 years after their first fight in May 2015. The rematch is scheduled for September 19 at the Sphere in Las Vegas and will be streamed on Netflix.
This will be Mayweather’s first professional fight since he stopped former UFC champion Conor McGregor in August 2017. Pacquiao, meanwhile, remained much more busy. Since his first meeting with Mayweather, he has had eight fights, compiling a record of 5-2-1.
Mayweather, who turns 49 today, announced last September that he would face former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, 59, in an exhibition fight scheduled for spring 2026. Pacquiao, 47, retired after a decision loss to Yordenis Ugas in August 2021, but returned last July to challenge then-WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios, fighting for a majority draw. He also has a gala fight scheduled with former welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov, which will take place on April 18 in Las Vegas.
Both Mayweather and Pacquiao are long past their prime, but the rematch may turn out to be more engaging than their first meeting. After a unanimous decision in 2015, Pacquiao revealed that he had suffered a shoulder injury during training camp that hampered his performances.
“The most vital thing people want to know is this is not an exhibition, this is a real fight,” Manny Pacquiao Promotions president Sean Gibbons told ESPN on Monday. “Nobody is buying the show of the Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao fight. Nobody wants to watch that. They want to see these two guys – who are very competitive with each other – fight for the winner. The key to the event is that the fight is a real fight, not an exhibition.”
Here’s a breakdown of why this fight is happening now and what fans can realistically expect from the highly anticipated grudge match.
Why are Mayweather and Pacquiao arguing again?
Although Mayweather and Pacquiao are now 49 and 47 years aged, respectively, there has been a seismic shift in the boxing landscape that makes a rematch a decade after their first meeting much more compelling than it once seemed.
And Jake Paul is largely responsible.
Paul’s 2024 fight with Mike Tyson attracted a massive audience of 108 million live viewers from around the world on Netflix. The fact that so many people watched the YouTuber-turned-boxer take on the then-58-year-old former heavyweight champion opened the door to similar fights in which fighters could make a huge sum of money without being dependent on the number of pay-per-views sold.
Selling the Mayweather vs. rematch Pacquiao was always going to be arduous after their first meeting in 2015. Although it broke pay-per-view and gate records, the fight itself was a disappointment, with Mayweather taking a wide and basic unanimous decision. Pacquiao was pushing for a rematch, but Mayweather didn’t need it. He rode off into the sunset just two years later after fighting MMA superstar Conor McGregor.
Mayweather (50-0, 27 KO) announced in the fall that he was coming out of retirement to face Tyson at an event in April, and has now changed his stance on not meeting Pacquiao again. This is largely due to the huge windfall of money that could be generated from this fight, and the second factor is that it is the best option for Mayweather to earn a payday without risking his undefeated record against a newborn superstar in his prime.
And given that Netflix is now entrenched in combat sports – last year’s Paul vs. Tyson boxing match was a mammoth success, and last week the streaming service hosted another dream fight between retired fighters, former MMA champion Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano – Mayweather vs. Pacquiao 2 could soar to novel heights.
Even though both players are approaching 50 years of age, their names still carry considerable weight. The Netflix marketing machine will ensure that this fight maximizes viewership and becomes the biggest boxing event of the year.
What happened during Mayweather and Pacquiao’s last fight?
Mayweather-Pacquiao 1 came about five years too behind schedule, after multiple failed negotiations that spoiled everything from drug testing to the division of the purse. During this delay, Pacquiao went from an undefeated force to a helpless veteran, suffering a stunning decision loss to Timothy Bradley Jr. and a shocking knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in four fights. By the time Mayweather and Pacquiao finally entered the ring in 2015, it was obvious that Mayweather was still performing at a high level – with victories over Canelo Alvarez and twice against ponderous puncher Marcos Maidana – while Pacquiao was not quite the force of nature that dominated the sport from 2005 to 2011. Still, the hype was undeniable and led to a record-breaking night, the event breaking numerous boxing records, grossing $72.2 million and $410 million in revenue from 4.6 million pay-per-view purchases. The fight itself was one-sided and Mayweather controlled it from the opening bell, delivering a classic performance with a keen jab. The scorecards showed a lack of drama as Mayweather won 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112.
Pacquiao later complained that a shoulder injury during training camp hampered his fight and demanded a rematch. So far he has been refused.
What can we expect from the rematch?
It’s tough to say. Mayweather hasn’t fought a significant opponent with a legitimate boxing background since he faced Andre Berto in 2015. Since then, he has fought an MMA fighter (McGregor) and participated in exhibition fights with YouTubers (Logan Paul and Deji Olatunji), a reality TV personality (Aaron Chalmers), the grandson of a notorious mob boss (John Gatti III), a journeyman boxer (Don Moore) and a kickboxer (Tenshin Nasukawa) over the past decade. And although he has always been in pristine physical condition, age will certainly have some effect on his skills.
Pacquiao has been more busy over the years, with wins over Adrien Broner, Keith Thurman, Lucas Matthysse, Jessie Vargas and Bradley since losing to Mayweather. He also lost to Jeff Horn and Yordenis Ugas, and his last fight was a majority draw against Barrios. He is no longer the whirlwind that engulfed the opposition nearly two decades ago, but at 47 he is still in exceptional form.
Although neither fighter will be in perfect physical shape, they will be on equal terms in terms of age, which may result in an invigorating fight. However, if Mayweather remains close to the same defensive wizard and brilliant ring tactician he was when he demolished Pacquiao in their first meeting, the fight could end up being another dud. However, if Pacquiao’s claims that a shoulder injury kept him out of the first fight are to be believed, it is possible that he will perform better offensively.
Will there be drug tests for this fight?
There is currently no information available on drug testing needed for the fight. ESPN reached out to the Nevada State Athletic Commission on Monday night and is awaiting a response.
Who is promoting this fight?
The fight will be co-promoted by Manny Pacquiao Promotions and Mayweather Promotions in association with CSI Sports/FIGHT SPORTS, which entered into a multi-year deal with Mayweather following his announcement of resuming his professional career.
Have there been any other sporting events at Sphere?
The $2.3 billion entertainment venue near the Las Vegas Strip, featuring a spherical design and immersive video and audio capabilities, has been primarily used for concerts since opening in 2023. However, on September 14, 2024, the UFC hosted its Noche UFC pay-per-view event there, culminating in a championship fight between Sean O’Malley and Merab Dvalishvili. According to the UFC, the event’s production costs exceeded $20 million. UFC CEO Dana White said it was a “one-time decision.” This is the only sports event that has been held in Sfera so far.
Where will this fight rank in the earnings and what will the purses be like?
There’s no word yet on how much each player will earn – or even how their contracts will be structured – and it could be some time before those numbers are released. However, the Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 event may break records as the most-watched sporting event in history, a distinction currently shared by Paul-Tyson’s 108 million viewers worldwide. This rematch could also have the effect of improving on the huge goal from the previous fight.
Mayweather-Pacquiao 1 still holds the record for the largest boxing gate in Las Vegas history, at $72.2 million. Mayweather also ranks second with $55.4 million in ticket sales for the McGregor fight.
In terms of purses, Mayweather reportedly earned between $200 million and $250 million for the first fight against Pacquiao, while “PacMan” earned around $120 million to $150 million. Given the expected high ticket price, it is possible that their purses will end up in the same place. UFC’s entry into the Sphere resulted in ticket prices ranging from $674 to over $44,000. with the average ticket price ranging from $1,000 to $3,000. Tickets for the Mayweather-Pacquiao 1 match cost between $1,500 and $7,500, but have taken the market by storm on the secondary market, with some ground-level tickets selling for more than $22,000.
In compact, there is a lot of money to be generated for this fight.
Hours after Jai Opetaia said he would defend his IBF cruiserweight title against Brandon Glanton on Sunday while also fighting for the inaugural Zuffa Boxing Championship, the IBF announced it will no longer sanction title defenses.
In a Friday evening statement, the IBF said it had withdrawn sanction for the fight after being misled that Zuffa’s championship would be nothing more than an item that would be “characterized as a trophy or token of recognition.”
At a press conference earlier Friday in Las Vegas, Opetaia said the IBF and Zuffa Boxing titles were on the line in what would be considered a unification fight.
However, Zuffa Boxing is not a sanctioning body recognized by the IBF and “does not adhere to the same mandatory regulations applicable to the organization.”
“An unsanctioned contest is a fight for which the IBF has not formally approved sanction or for which a sanction has been formally withdrawn,” the IBF said in a statement. “If a champion enters an unsanctioned fight within the designated weight limit, the title will be declared vacant regardless of whether the champion wins or loses the fight.”
If Opetaia takes the fight, he will be stripped of his title for a second time; the first was in 2023 when he fought Ellis Zorro instead of his mandatory opponent, Mairis Briedis.
Opetaia signed with Zuffa Boxing in January with the intention of maintaining her undisputed status while competing for her inaugural title.
“We just want to be unchallenged and then spend time with our families,” Opetaia said in a recent interview with ESPN. “We’re talking about it unchallenged. If we’re not here to be unchallenged in this game, then what are we doing?”
“I feel like I was the better player. My reach, distance and speed were kind of better than his,” Stevenson said on The Joe Rogan Experience, recalling the rounds they played during training camp early in his professional career.
Shakur added that Lomachenko’s conditioning and striking were an advantage at the time as the Ukrainian prepared for the fight during camp.
“From the standpoint of being in shape and throwing more punches, I think he was better to some extent,” Shakur said. “He was preparing for his fight and I was preparing for my fight too.”
The sessions took place in 2017, when Lomachenko was preparing to fight Guillermo Rigondeaux. Stevenson, then a juvenile midfielder who had won an Olympic silver medal, was brought into camp as a sparring partner.
Lomachenko entered the professional ranks after one of the most successful amateur careers in boxing history. Unlike Stevenson, who won an Olympic silver medal, Lomachenko won two Olympic gold medals and set a record widely reported as 396 wins and one defeat.
That lone loss came to Russian Albert Selimov in the final of the 2007 World Amateur Featherweight Championship. Lomachenko later avenged this defeat twice in his amateur career, including a victory over Selimov at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Shakur said the experience stuck with him because he felt he was able to hold his own against one of the most respected technicians in the sport at the time.
Looking back, Stevenson stated that he believed Lomachenko may have looked at the situation differently after seeing how Stevenson performed during those rounds.
“If I’m Lomachenko and I know he weighed 126 pounds at the time. He was a kid growing into his 30s,” Stevenson said. “Now I see him grown up, bigger and stronger, and I see what he did as a kid. I would probably test the waters with him. I really wouldn’t want to see that guy.”
The two fighters have never faced each other in the professional ranks, despite competing in nearby divisions for part of their careers.
A two-time Olympic gold medalist, Loma won world titles in multiple divisions and earned a reputation as one of boxing’s most technically gifted fighters. Since then, Shakur has been on his own path, winning titles in three divisions and establishing himself as one of the most defensively gifted fighters in the sport.
While sparring sessions remain part of boxing history, Stevenson suggested that the experience may facilitate explain why a fight between the two never materialized once both fighters had reached championship level.
Juan Manuel Marquez said it was almost impossible to be among the top 10 Mexican players, but naming the greatest champion his country had ever produced seemed a much easier task.
The Hall of Famer himself is widely considered one of the top 10 Mexican fighters of all time, having won world titles in four weight classes.
Perhaps most importantly, Marquez had four iconic battles with Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao, ending their last meeting in 2012 with a devastating sixth-round victory.
Elsewhere in his career, “Dinamita” successfully defended his featherweight, super-featherweight and lightweight titles several times before calling the shots in 2014 for his 64-fight campaign.
While Marquez is certainly one of the best players his nation has ever produced, a position in the all-time top 10 remains extremely competitive, even for him.
When talking about Mexican champions, the first name that usually comes to mind is Julio Cesar Chavez, who previously had an astonishing 90-fight unbeaten streak. losing to Frank Randall in 1994.
In addition to him, Ruben Olivares, Carlos Zarate and Salvador Sanchez also deserve mention, although many would consider Canelo Alvarez one of the top 10 Mexican fighters of all time.
In an episode of the ProBox TV podcast, Marquez didn’t give a final top 10, but insisted that Chavez is “without a doubt the best.”
“The history of Mexican boxing is very affluent, it is tough [to list a top 10]. [There’s] Ruben Olivares, Carlos Zarate, Lupe Pintor, Salvador Sanchez, just to name a few.
“Because the history of boxing in Mexico is very affluent – [Marco Antonio] Barrera, [Erik] Morales, [Julio Cesar] Chavez – I put myself last. Chavez is without a doubt the best…Ricardo Lopez, Humberto Gonzalez.”
Lopez retired with an undefeated record of 51-0-1 (38 KOs) after becoming a two-time lightweight world champion, while Gonzalez became a three-time delicate flyweight world champion.
Barrera and Morales obviously also deserve to be in the consensus top 10, although that is a debate that will continue for years to come, especially as the country continues to produce outstanding talent.
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.
Opinions & Features1 year ago
MMA1 year ago
Results1 year ago
Results1 year ago
Video1 year ago
Analysis11 months ago
Video1 year ago
Results1 year ago