MANILA – Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao confirmed on Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, that a second showdown against fellow welterweight great Floyd Mayweather is a possibility for early 2026.
Pacquiao said that fighting Mayweather again, 11 years after their first encounter, is an option, and the former eight-division world champion is interested in making it happen.
“I’d love to have a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, so I hope that we can understand each other and we can negotiate well,” said Pacquiao when he was formally introduced as the vice president of the International Boxing Association in a press conference at Novotel Manila hours before the “Thrilla in Manila” 50th anniversary fight card at the adjacent Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Ring Magazine’s Mike Coppinger first reported that a rematch between Pacquiao and Mayweather is in the works.
However, Pacquiao clarified that nothing is concrete yet as to whom he will
fight next.
“There’s a lot of ongoing negotiations right now, so it’s hard to preempt what fight I’m going to push through. So I’m just waiting for the final negotiation, but right now, we have a lot of negotiations about my next fight,” said Pacquiao.
Another option, according to the former senator, is a showdown against former lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.
“We’re going to announce the final decision of the fight. We’re going to post it,” Pacquiao further said.
Pacquiao and Mayweather fought in 2015, with the latter winning via unanimous decision, but a good number of fans were disappointed at how the bout went, especially since they were expecting an all-out war between welterweight greats.
According to Coppinger, should negotiations succeed, the Pacquiao-Mayweather 2 could be seen live on Netflix following the success of the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight card last Sept. 14 (PH time). / PNA