Return of the May-Pac? Mayweather announces comeback 'this year' for '9-figure' Pacquiao rematch
Retired all-time boxing great Floyd Mayweather Jr has all but confirmed his comeback to fight former six-weight world champion Manny Pacquiao in a ‘nine-figure’ mega-money rematch of their 2015 superfight.
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Mayweather posted a meeting between the two at a concert in Tokyo to his social media, with a caption stating he was ready for another “nine-figure” payday against the Filipino legend, whom he beat by comfortable unanimous decision 116-112, 116-112, 118-110.
It would be the first time Mayweather has entered the ring since his 10th-round TKO win over Conor McGregor in their crossover fight in 2017 in Las Vegas. That fight - which was held at the same T-Mobile Arena as his bout with Pacquiao - brought him up to 50 professional wins without defeat.
Since Pacquiao’s defeat at the hands of Floyd, he has fought four more times, winning three and losing one, picking up two more belts at welterweight. The Filipino icon revealed that the fight could be finalized as early as this week, and could take place before the end of the year.
"We will finalize the fight this week, either Mayweather or somebody else, where and when, what date," Pacquiao, whose last fight was a seventh-round TKO victory over Argentine warriow Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur for the WBA belt, told reporters, per ESPN.
The pair's first fight generated somewhere between $300 million and $400 million, which included 4.6 million pay-per-view buys, breaking viewership records in the US. However, it is unlikely a rematch would reach such heights as it was suggested even the original fight was staged some time after the two fighters' respective prime years.