Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather agree September rematch at Sphere
Boxing greats Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather have agreed to a professional rematch, scheduled for Saturday, 19 September at the Sphere in Las Vegas. The pairing reunites two Hall of Fame-era fighters and will be staged as the first professional boxing match at the Sphere, with the bout live on Netflix.
Confirmed date, venue and streaming details
The rematch is set for Saturday, 19 September at the Sphere in Las Vegas, and will mark the first professional boxing match ever staged at that venue. The promoters have said the bout will be shown live on Netflix.
A comeback for both men: ages and recent announcements
Pacquiao, 47, and Mayweather, 48, will meet in September. Mayweather announced he would come out of retirement for a fourth time last week and it will be his first professional fight since his 10th-round technical knockout of Conor McGregor in 2017. Mayweather, who turns 49 on Tuesday, said: "I already fought and beat Manny once. This time will be the same result. "
Manny Pacquiao's retirement, return and recent fight
Manny Pacquiao retired from the sport in 2021 to focus on his political career but returned to the ring last July to face WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios; Barrios retained his title after a draw. Pacquiao has 62 wins from his 73 bouts and is the winner of 12 world titles across eight weight classes. In October he said the pair were close to agreeing a rematch but that it depended on he and Mayweather being able to "understand each other. " Pacquiao added: "Floyd and I gave the world what remains the biggest fight in boxing history. The fans have waited long enough. They deserve this rematch. I want Floyd to live with the one loss on his professional record and always remember who gave it to him. "
Their first meeting and its place in boxing history
Mayweather and Pacquiao first met in 2015 in a bout billed as the "Fight of the Century"; that matchup remains the richest in boxing history. The 2015 fight took place in Las Vegas and ended with Mayweather beating Pacquiao a wide unanimous decision.
Records, exhibitions and open questions about the rematch
Mayweather has a professional record of 50-0, with 27 wins by knockout, and has had a string of exhibition bouts since retiring in 2017. He is also scheduled to face Mike Tyson this year; Tyson is a former undisputed world heavyweight champion who only recently returned to the ring after ending a 19-year retirement in November with a controversial defeat by YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. When announcing the end of his retirement on Saturday, Mayweather said: "From my upcoming Mike Tyson event to my next professional fight afterwards: no-one will generate a bigger gate, have a larger global broadcast audience and generate more money with each event than my events. " It is not yet known over how many rounds or at what weight class the rematch will be contested.
