After more than a decade of speculation, jabs, and unfinished business, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao are officially running it back. The two boxing legends will meet Sept. 19 at the Sphere in Las Vegas in a professional rematch streaming globally on Netflix a sequel to their 2015 “Fight of the Century,” which Mayweather won by unanimous decision.
To begin the promotional tour, Pacquiao appeared on ESPN’s SportsCenter and made it clear: this isn’t about exhibitions it’s about redemption.
“Before he wanted an exhibition with me, but I disagreed. I didn’t want an exhibition. I wanted a real fight like this. So, this is it. This is what I have been waiting for.”
Parallel Comebacks
Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs), who turned 49 this week, confirmed his return from a nine-year professional retirement. He also announced a separate exhibition bout with Mike Tyson scheduled for April 25 in the Congo.
Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs), 47, has been active as well. He recently announced an April 18 exhibition against Ruslan Provodnikov in Las Vegas. Last July, Pacquiao returned from a four-year retirement and fought Mario Barrios to a majority draw in a bid for the WBC welterweight title.
“It just happened that I’m still active in boxing and then he came out of retirement, so he decided to do it again,” Pacquiao said. “I’m so excited for the fight.”
Lessons From 2015
Their first clash generated nearly $600 million in revenue and broke pay-per-view records, but many fans felt the action did not match the hype. Afterward, Pacquiao revealed he had entered the bout with a shoulder injury a development that led to fan backlash and even legal challenges alleging fraud. This time, Pacquiao says there will be no such issues.
“Oh yeah, I learned a lot from that fight way back in 2015. I hope that it will not happen again. I’m hoping this time around there are no more excuses, especially for my condition and everything.”
He added that both fighters remain disciplined and dedicated to their conditioning. “Both of us are disciplined fighters. We are taking care of our bodies. I always work out, almost every day… Right now, I still can fight. I feel like I’m still young, nothing’s changed.”
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
