American professional boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr says he is coming out of retirement once again for a rematch with Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao later this year.
The pair came face to face at a concert in Tokyo, Japan on Saturday, prompting Mayweather to take to Instagram and declare he is planning yet another return to the ring.
“I’m coming back to fight Manny Pacquiao this year. Another 9 figure pay day on the way”, Mayweather posted.
Various reports indicate that talks are at an advanced stage and contracts will be sent out this week for the fight to take place in December.
Since facing Pacquiao, Mayweather has fought against Andre Berto in 2015 and his August 2017 knockout of Conor McGregor in the UFC star’s boxing debut, winning all of them. The 41-year-old professional boxer said after McGregor that “this was my last fight.”
Pacquiao has fought four times since losing to his great rival; beating Tim Bradley, Jessie Vargas and most recently Lucas Matthysse.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao first met in 2015 in a fight billed as “The Fight of the Century.”
It took place on May 2, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mayweather won the contest by unanimous decision, with two judges scoring it 116–112 and the other 118–110.
Mayweather is still unbeaten in his professional boxing career, having won all the 50 fights with 27 knock-outs.
Pacquiao is the first boxer in history to win major world titles in four of the original eight weight classes of boxing: flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight.