WELL, I should probably say nobody saw this coming. A few weeks ago, Manny Pacquiao announced another comeback and his chosen dance partner was reportedly Ruslan Provodnikov — another retired former champion. For his part, Floyd Mayweather Jr. had also teased a return in an exhibition match against an ancient Mike Tyson.
Surprise, surprise. As it turned out, these two ring legends still had an undimmed desire for each other, or more properly, in each other’s capacity to make the most money, and so their rematch has been set on Sept. 19, 2026, at The Sphere in Las Vegas — the first boxing event ever held at that venue — and will stream live on Netflix for subscribers worldwide at no extra PPV cost.
Pacquiao is now 47 years old and Mayweather is 49. The original 2015 fight happened after years of failed negotiations over drug testing, purse splits, etc.
But now, I guess everything is more seamless. In the previous fight, which Mayweather won by unanimous decision, Pacquiao fought with a torn shoulder injury (which he only revealed post-fight). But make no mistake about it, these guys will be coming in already with all sorts of aches and pains but this will happen come hell or high water simply because there’s too much money to be made and this is obviously nothing more than a late career cash-grab.
UNDERCARD. So what’s with this trend nowadays of old superstars with extra creaky joints trying to reclaim the spotlight?
Well as a 53-year-old myself, I’m all for it if it makes sense to some.
So while we are at it, why allow these two to monopolize all the fun? Let’s give others a chance, and ergo I propose the following undercard bouts.
Tyson vs. Holyfield 3. We all know what happened in 1997. Mike Tyson’s trainer forgot to feed him prior to the fight and so Iron Bite took one longing look at Evander Holyfield’s juicy ear, mistook it for a burger patty and promptly snipped off a huge chunk.
Who doesn’t want to see that again? This time let’s starve both of them one week prior, wean them off their prescription meds, let them come in with no mouthpieces and see who attacks the buffet line first.
Dela Hoya vs. Trinidad 2. The decision in favor of Felix Trinidad was indeed controversial. Oscar De La Hoya was boxing his ears off when he inexplicably dropped his output and began running around in the last three rounds.
Tito was reportedly in a financial crisis a few years ago, and so one huge payout won’t hurt. As for Dela Hoya, I am sure he won’t mind, just as long as the check clears before his next facelift appointment.
LAST ROUND. It’s on my law office partner Atty. Oscar Tan, who recently celebrated his birthday. Cheers!