Cash rules everything around me -Wu Tang Clan
With the amount of outlandish money that is thrown around these days by everyone from streaming executives, the elected officials, and even foreign governments, it’s not shocking when a former athlete quite literally cashes in their cache from a stellar career for a major payday years after their physical peak.
However, it was still somewhat surprising when it was announced last week that Floyd “Money” Mayweather will come out of retirement for another pro bout at the age of 49 when he steps into the ring for a rematch against former eight-division world champion, Manny Pacquiao on September 19th at the Sphere, the lavish entertainment venue, in Las Vegas.
Each of these legendary boxers have announced their retirements from the sport before and have made multiple comebacks, as well as staying active with a slew of PR-type of exhibitions in recent years so the fact that they are going to fight at the pro level again, even if it’s debatable if they should at their age, was always in the cards.
However, if they should fight each other again, could undoubtedly be a topic of discussion.
Speaking of exhibitions, Floyd made a habit of competing in glorified exhibitions in the latter stages of his career, hand-picking opponents that were a minimal threat to his brilliant defensive strategy for one reason or another, while he was still the highest-paid fighter in the business. For example, he fought Canelo Alvarez when the Mexican superstar was just 23, which was before he had the experience to put a blemish on Floyd’s undefeated record. A pair of bouts against the talented Marcos Maidana, the second contest only took place because of a razor-close decision, were proof that “Money” Mayweather could be tested in the ring if he chose an opponent with the skills and the experience to push the pace.
In short, Floyd put off the highly-anticipated bout with Pacquiao for as long as he could, allowing for “Pac-Man” to show signs that he was past his complete prime, including a brutal knockout loss to Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012, before he was finally willing to ink a deal to make the “super fight” happen in 2015. The argument could be made that if promoters had waited any longer for the contest to materialize that interest would’ve waned since the public lost faith that the fight would ever actually take place. But, when the spectacle became a reality, it set an all-time pay-per-view record of 4.6 million buys, with a price tag of $99.99 along with astronomical ticket prices to be in the building at bell time, generating a staggering $600 million in revenue. For their participation, Mayweather, dubbed the “A-side” of the contest because of his undefeated record, was paid $180 million, while Pacquiao garnered around $120 million for the bout.
While a financial success, the fight itself was woefully underwhelming, as Mayweather artfully dodged punches, and Manny didn’t showcase his trademark speed to attempt to pressure his opponent. The action was minimal, and Floyd won a rather easy decision on the scorecards, leaving the general public even more disenfranchised with boxing than they had been in years prior. Controversy was sparked when Manny revealed after the fight that he suffered a shoulder injury in training and didn’t disclose it to the state athletic commission, which is required for the pre-fight paperwork. A few months later, a lawsuit was filed, claiming that because Pacquiao kept the injury hidden that customers, both for live event tickets and PPV purchases, as well as those that wagered on the fight were mislead. The lawsuit was dismissed, but the general public was soured on the Floyd/Manny match-up so initial discussions for a rematch went nowhere, and there wasn’t much demand for it anyway.
Manny tested the waters when the 47-year-old former champion fought Mario Barrios to a draw last July, his first pro fight in four years, but there wasn’t much mainstream publicity for it. As age impacted his boxing style, Pacquiao’s record was a mixed bag when he lost a few fights that a prime “Pac-Man” simply wouldn’t have, but that’s often the nature of sports. It wasn’t so much that Manny lost to Floyd, but rather the fashion that it happened. Outside of when Mayweather fought former UFC champion, Connor McGregor in an absolute circus fight, which capitalized more of the brash Irishman’s popularity at the time than anything else, the argument could be made that Floyd hasn’t been nearly as popular as he was either since the lackluster Mayweather/Pacquiao pay-per-view in 2015.
To attempt to put their names back into the sports conversation, both are penciled in for sideshow exhibitions, before their pro rematch in September. Floyd will fight Mike Tyson in an eight-round exhibition in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on April 25th. As we saw with the Jake Paul debacle, the American public will still watch Tyson in the ring, which speaks to the massive drawing card that he was in his prime more than thirty years ago. This segment will essentially be a way for Floyd to sell the Pacquiao rematch to viewers since Tyson’s involvement will generate an audience. With two-minute rounds, the sum total of this exhibition will probably be a little more than a sparring session, which is fine since the 59-year-old Tyson shouldn’t be put in danger anyway.
Floyd gets to promoter himself, and Tyson gets another payday. The viewing audience will get a slice of entertainment so no harm, no foul.
That same month, Manny will tentatively fight former Russian champion, Ruslan Provodnikov, who hasn’t competed in a decade, in a 10-round exhibition at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Assuming the bout happens, it will have the same objective as the Floyd/Tyson segment, albeit with less publicity. Manny will get the opportunity to sell the notion that he still has the skills to the audience ahead of the Floyd rematch.
Why this fight would take place in 2026 is puzzling, but a lawsuit filed recently could provide an answer.
Mayweather filed a lawsuit against Showtime, the network that he was signed to previously to distribution his bouts, with a claim that he wasn’t paid the accurate amount for his fights according to the contract. His former manager, Al Haymon, one of the promoters that hampered the sport through red tape to ensure his piece of the pie, is also named in the lawsuit. Floyd claims that Haymon illegally diverted Showtime payments for fights to his own projects, with Mayweather only receiving a portion of the cash that he was supposed to be paid. It remains to be seen how the lawsuit will unfold, but if there’s a paper trail, and there should be, Floyd might have a case for the $340 million that he is seeking in the lawsuit.
However, when a fighter is back in the ring at 49, regardless of who it is, it’s usually not for the love of the game.
As ridiculous as this might sound because of how many well-known hefty fight pursues that “Money” Mayweather competed for throughout his career, it’s very possible that Floyd cooked up this rematch with the Filipino superstar because he needs the cash. Floyd lives a very public lavish lifestyle, and considering that even Mike Tyson went broke because Don King was a crook, it’s at least possible that Floyd needs the money, too. Ironically, going after $340 million in court isn’t cheap either.
So, if I had to guess, this is another Manny/Floyd cash grab, just with a different premise than the first fight.
When they finally inked a deal in 2015, it was because they didn’t want to risk leaving that much money on the table. In 2026, this is a situation where Floyd probably needs the money, but the point is, that the rematch won’t be any better than the original bout. Fans didn’t want to see a rematch when these two were still in a portion of their prime because it was such a snooze fest, why would it be any different when they are both more than a decade older?
The good news is, the fight is scheduled to stream on Netflix so the audience will only have to pay the subscription fee, not an inflated price tag on pay-per-view. Obviously, there’s a reason that this bout is on the streaming platform and not being sold as an expensive purchase on pay-per-view. When there isn’t an extra fee, there are naturally lower expectations. That being said, nobody should be hopeful that these two are somehow going to turn back the clock ten years to have the fight that they should’ve had the first time, they won’t. Floyd will still be able to use his masterful defense, and Manny will still be unable to connect with meaningful punches.
Hopefully, if nothing else, fans can enjoy the spectacle. If bouts like this with aging legends should continue to take place, Ronda Rousey will return to MMA this year on Netflix despite a history of concussions, is a different discussion for a different time, but somehow it still draws numbers since the streaming platform can distribute it without an addition fee. That being said, outside of a Mayweather loss since it would be the only defeat on his record, the 2026 Floyd/Manny contest will probably be as underwhelming as their 2015 bout.
What do you think? Share your thoughts, opinions, feedback, and anything else that was raised on Twitter @PWMania and Facebook.com/PWMania.
Until next week
-Jim LaMotta
Email [email protected] | You can follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Threads @jimlamotta89
