Former eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao, who has expressed interest in a pay-per-view rematch with retired Floyd Mayweather, appears to have taken a big step in the direction of doing so this week.
According to a report Thursday on BoxingScene, Pacquiao (60-7-2) has signed with manager Al Haymon, the founder of Premier Boxing Champions and longtime Mayweather adviser who owns PBC broadcasting deals with Showtime and Fox. Pacquiao, who turns 40 in December, cut ties with longtime promoter Top Rank following his July knockout of secondary WBA welterweight titleholder Lucas Matthysse in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Mayweather (50-0) joined Pacquiao in making headlines on Sept. 15 when the two met publicly during a music festival in Tokyo and began to hype the idea of rematch to their record-setting 2015 bout that was more than five years in the making. Mayweather defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision in a blockbuster that was panned for its lack of entertainment after producing 4.6 million pay-per-view buys.
The 41-year-old Mayweather, who hasn't fought since defeating former UFC champion Conor McGregor in August 2017, recently said he was considering a December tune-up bout in Tokyo before looking to make the Pacquiao fight early in 2019. Despite the combined age of the two boxers who ruled the sport's PPV landscape for nearly a decade, the fight is still expected to do big business.
In addition to the Mayweather fight, aligning with Haymon potentially opens the doors to a gluttony of big names and top talent under the PBC banner at welterweight, including Errol Spence Jr., Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Adrien Berto, Andre Berto and many more.
Although Pacquiao has noticeably slowed down in recent years from his explosive prime when he effortlessly rose in weight and carried his power and explosion with him, he did snap a nine-year streak without a knockout against Matthysse.
Pacquiao cut ties with longtime Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach earlier this year and according to the BoxingScene report has just recently done the same with business manager Michael Koncz.
Share This Post
