As of one month ago, Floyd Mayweather Jr. was tabbed to end his near decade-long retirement in an official boxing rematch with former dance partner Manny Pacquiao on Sept. 19 at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
Now, he’s not so sure.
The 50-0 boxing superstar raised major doubts about the legacy sequel during a meet and greet at the MCM store at Caesar’s Pace on Saturday, telling Vegas Sports Today that his return to the ring would be an exhibition and that it may not take place at the new Vegas venue.
“As of right now, we don’t know exactly where the fight is going to be at,” Mayweather said of the rematch, which was set to follow their 2015 blockbuster bout, which fell well short of expectations.
“We don’t know the location of the fight. The Sphere is one of the places that they talked about,” he added. “So we don’t know if it’s a hundred percent going to be there. And this is not actually a fight. It’s an exhibition.”
Mayweather’s latest stance contradicts Netflix’s February announcement and a news release from his own camp that said he would resume his boxing career after signing a multi-fight deal with CSI Sports/Fight Sports.
Pacquiao — who came out of retirement last summer and pushed then-WBC world welterweight champion Mario Barrios to a majority draw — and his team were also adamant that the 47-year-old legend would only face Mayweather, 49, in a sanctioned professional bout.
Mayweather also told Vegas Sports Today that he still planned to participate in an exhibition bout with heavyweight icon Mike Tyson, which was announced last year without so much as a date, location, or broadcast partner.
He has also committed to a June exhibition with Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis in Athens, though additional details remain sparse.
Despite once masking as a certainty, it seems the Mayweather-Pacquiao bout — and Mayweather’s career curtain call — is joining that same realm of “what ifs.”
“It’s an exhibition, so we’re both winners,” Mayweather added, underscoring that his rematch with Pacquiao would not be a pro fight. “I mean, we just want to go out there and entertain the people and put on a good show.”
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