Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao agree September rematch at Sphere — floyd mayweather to return
Boxing greats Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather have agreed to a professional rematch scheduled for Saturday, 19 September at Sphere in Las Vegas, with the bout to be streamed live on Netflix. The announcement confirms that floyd mayweather will come out of retirement for a fourth time to contest what will be the first professional boxing match staged at Sphere.
Floyd Mayweather comments on rematch
Mayweather, who is currently 48 and who "turns 49 on Tuesday, " said: "I already fought and beat Manny once. This time will be the same result. " He has an unbeaten professional record of 50-0 with 27 wins by knockout, and he declared when announcing the end of his retirement on Saturday: "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. " Mayweather announced he would come out of retirement for a fourth time last week and has had a string of exhibition bouts since retiring in 2017.
Date, venue and broadcast
The rematch is set for Saturday, 19 September in Las Vegas at Sphere and will be broadcast live on Netflix. Promoters say the bout will be the first professional boxing match staged at Sphere. It is not yet known over how many rounds or at what weight class the rematch will be contested.
Their 2015 fight and legacy
Mayweather and Pacquiao first met in 2015 in a fight billed as the "Fight of the Century" that remains the richest in boxing history. That 2015 encounter, which some described as tame with both fighters past their peaks, ended with Mayweather emerging victorious by a wide unanimous decision in Las Vegas; one description of the result noted Mayweather won on points.
Retirements, exhibitions and recent returns
Mayweather's last professional fight before this return was in 2017, when he beat Conor McGregor with a 10th-round technical knockout, though some have called that contest a glorified exhibition. Pacquiao retired from boxing in 2021 to focus on his political career but returned to the ring last July to fight 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.
Money, audience and streaming context
Both fighters are expected to earn tens of millions of dollars for the rematch. Pacquiao said: "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. " He added that he dedicates the fight to his fellow Filipinos around the world and to bringing glory to the Philippines. Pacquiao is widely described as a national hero in the Philippines, while Mayweather has built a lucrative career and cultivated a villain role.
Mike Tyson, Jake Paul and Netflix background
Mayweather is scheduled to face Mike Tyson this year. That upcoming Tyson fight would be Tyson's first since the former undisputed world heavyweight champion ended a 19-year retirement in November in a controversial defeat by Youtuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul. Netflix has invested heavily in live sports: its broadcast of Jake Paul v Mike Tyson in 2024 attracted 108 million live global viewers, making it the most-streamed sporting event in history. Netflix has also shown NFL games on Christmas Day and provided live coverage of climber Alex Honnold scaling a Taipei skyscraper last month.
In October Pacquiao said the pair were close to agreeing a rematch but that any deal depended on he and Mayweather being able to "understand each other. "
All parties involved have confirmed the rematch date, location and Netflix broadcast; other details such as weight class and number of rounds remain unclear in the provided context.
