The Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao 2 rematch won’t be held as initially scheduled this fall after all.
Mayweather and Pacquiao were initially scheduled for their rematch at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept. 19, and the fight was going to be broadcast by Netflix. But after several issues have come up, the Sphere has now been booked for another event.
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The venue has now booked a pair of Eagles concerts that weekend, part of the legendary band’s residence at the Sphere. Neither side nor Netflix commented to ESPN about the status of the fight after the concerts were booked.
It’s unclear if the Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch will still be held Sept. 19 at a different venue, or at the Sphere on a different date. But at least for now, Sept. 19 at the Sphere is officially off the table.
There have been several roadblocks that have come up since Netflix first announced this fight in February, which the streaming giant called a “one-in-a-generation event” for which Mayweather was “officially coming out of retirement.” But in March, Mayweather said that both the fight wasn’t locked in at the Sphere and that it wasn’t going to be a professional fight. He insisted instead that it would be an exhibition, which wouldn’t threaten his undefeated 50-0 record.
Pacquiao’s camp responded and indicated it would hold Mayweather to the “binding agreement” that was signed. Pacquiao has since set up a base of operations at an old “Mayweather Boxing + Fitness” gym in Los Angeles, too, and rebranded it as his own.
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Mayweather has apparently been dealing with financial issues in his post-fight career and is reportedly even facing a $7.3 million lien from the IRS over unpaid taxes in 2018 and 2023. He does have two exhibition fights announced: one with Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis in Athens, Greece, in June and another with Mike Tyson that does not have a date or a venue set.
While no one on the fight side has commented yet on the Eagles show issue, the status of the Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch is very much up in the air. The fact that the fight no longer has a home and may potentially be dropped to exhibition status are not good omens for the once hyped rematch between the two iconic fighters.
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