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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider Boxing devider Pacquiao, Mayweather rekindle old rivalry in September rematch

Pacquiao, Mayweather rekindle old rivalry in September rematch

Published Feb 24, 2026 09:03 am

At A Glance

  • Eleven years since their first blockbuster encounter, boxing greats Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are rekindling the old rivalry with a much-anticipated rematch on Sept. 20 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Eleven years since their first blockbuster encounter, boxing greats Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. are rekindling the old rivalry with a much-anticipated rematch on Sept. 20 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

The announcement came on the heels of Mayweather’s declaration that he is coming out of retirement after the scheduled exhibition against Mike Tyson.

Aside from the fight being co-promoted by MP Promotions and Mayweather Promotions in partnership with CSI Sport/Fight Sport and will be broadcasted through Netflix, not much details are revealed about the bout, particularly the weight class and number of rounds.

“Just wait for the announcement,” said Pacquiao during a press conference for the title partnership between MPBL and SportsPlus on Monday, Feb. 23.

With the fight, Pacquiao, who was the first to come out of retirement and has been active in the sport after challenging previous World Boxing Council welterweight champion Marrio Barrios in his comeback fight, is finally getting a second shot at Mayweather, who defeated him via a unanimous decision in 2015.

In the bout billed as ‘Fight of the Century’, Mayweather put up a defensive masterclass and outpointed Pacquiao who was later on revealed to be fighting through a shoulder injury.

Mayweather would end up retiring with a clean 50-0 record while Pacquiao would continue fighting before calling it quits in 2021 with a 62-8-2 record.

“Floyd and I gave the world what remains the biggest fight in boxing history. The fans have waited long enough, they deserve this rematch and it will be even bigger now," said Pacquiao in a statement.

“I want Floyd to live with the one loss on his professional record and always remember who gave it to him,” he added.

“I already fought and beat Manny once. This time will be the same result,” Mayweather said in return.

Like Mayweather, however, he is set for a 10-round welterweight exhibition match against former champion Ruslan Provodnikov in April.

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