Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Agree to Sept. 19 Rematch at The Sphere in Las Vegas
Floyd Mayweather and manny pacquiao have agreed to a rematch set for Sept. 19 in Las Vegas that will be streamed live on Netflix. The bout will be staged at Sphere and is being billed as the first boxing event in the venue east of the Strip, a high-profile return for both men more than a decade after their initial meeting.
The Sphere and Las Vegas staging
The second fight will take place at Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 19 and will be the first boxing event held at the immersive venue east of the Strip. Promoters note the rematch will be streamed on Netflix, marking another marquee fight for the streaming service as it expands its live sports programming.
Manny Pacquiao’s comeback plans and April 18 opponent
Pacquiao, 47, ended a four-year retirement last year and is scheduled to face Ruslan Provodnikov on April 18 in the second bout of his comeback. He has framed the rematch as unfinished business, saying the fans have waited long enough and insisting he wants Mayweather to remember the one loss on his record.
Floyd Mayweather’s retirement reversal and recent activity
Mayweather announced last week his intention to end a nine-year retirement from competitive boxing and will be 49 when the rematch takes place; one statement noted he turns 49 on Tuesday relative to the announcement. Mayweather returned to high-profile combat with a 2017 win over Conor McGregor and has spent much of his 40s in paid exhibitions. He has also scheduled another exhibition with 59-year-old Mike Tyson for the spring, though that exhibition currently lacks a location or date. Mayweather is described as being involved in legal disputes with multiple alleged creditors, including matters ranging from unpaid rent on a Manhattan apartment to outstanding jewelry bills.
The 2015 fight, injuries and commercial record
The two will meet 11 years after Mayweather beat Pacquiao by decision in 2015. That first bout, once billed for years, was widely seen as tame and failed to match pre-fight hype; promoters nonetheless called it the most profitable fight in history and said it set pay-per-view records. Pacquiao later revealed he fought the 2015 bout with a shoulder injury and said he had avoided postponing such an important event, which limited his usual offensive pressure. Both camps had previously traded blame for the delay that preceded their first meeting.
Financial stakes, public profile and Netflix’s role
Organizers expect the rematch to generate tens of millions of dollars for the fighters. Pacquiao remains a national hero in the Philippines and dedicated the fight to his fellow Filipinos and to bringing glory to the Philippines; Mayweather has long cultivated a lucrative career and a villainous public persona that drives global interest. Netflix has invested heavily in live sports: its 2024 broadcast of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson drew 108 million live global viewers, making it the most-streamed sporting event on record, and the streamer has also carried NFL games on Christmas Day and nontraditional live events such as a climber’s ascent of a Taipei skyscraper. Netflix previously showcased Terence Crawford’s win over Canelo Álvarez last year, and the rematch will be another high-profile addition to its live slate.
Mayweather and Pacquiao did not announce a weight class or the number of rounds for their second bout. The timing matters because both fighters are well past their primes—Mayweather and Pacquiao will be 49 and 47 respectively when they meet—and the matchup arrives after years of exhibitions, political campaigns, and comeback attempts that have shifted the context of what the fight represents. What makes this notable is that the rematch pairs two of boxing’s most commercially potent names at a moment when spectacle and platform-driven distribution may matter as much as in-ring form.
Both fighters publicly reaffirmed their positions: Mayweather said he had already beaten Pacquiao once and expected the same result this time; Pacquiao reiterated his desire to settle the rivalry and to deliver for fans. Details left unclear in the provided context include the bout’s weight class, the round length, and the final financial guarantees. Those elements remain to be announced as preparations proceed toward Sept. 19 in Las Vegas.
