It's finally official: less than a week after the announcement that Floyd Mayweather was returning to boxing, Netflix has announced a rematch for one of the most anticipated fights of all-time, against Manny Pacquiao. It will take place on September 19, and will be the first boxing fight to take place at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
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Mayweather and Pacquiao first fought on May 2, 2015, and Mayweather won via unanimous decision. The fight, which had been in the plans since 2009, was labelled as the "Fight of the Century" but ended up being disappointing to most critics and fans, and it was later revealed that Pacquiao had fought with a shoulder injury.
Nobody will know if the rematch, eleven years later, will be better. The age will be a concern: Pacquiao is 47 and retired from boxing in 2021. After a failed attempt to run for president of Philippines in 2022 and a failed attempt at a re-election in the Senate, he returned to boxing, having a draw against Mario Barrios in July 2025.
Mayweather is 48 and retired from professional boxing in 2017, although he has held exhibition matches since (the most recent, against John Gotti III in August 2024). He puts at stake a perfect record of 50 wins, 27 by KO, and no defeats.
"The fans have waited long enough—they deserve this rematch, and it will be even bigger now that it will be streamed live globally on Netflix. I want Floyd to live with the one loss on his professional record and always remember who gave it to him", said Pacquiao.
Netflix continues to invest big in live sports, particularly combat sports, as they recently announced another dream fight, between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano, that will take place on May 16.