Manny Pacquiao’s promotional team is pivoting to secure an exhibition match for the legendary boxer later this year following the postponement of his highly anticipated rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
During a press briefing on Monday at the MannyPay headquarters in Makati City, MP Promotions CEO Jas Mathur shared that negotiations are actively underway to get the “People’s Champ” back in the ring before the end of the year.
”We’re working on a few different fights right now for him. Presently there’s likely going to be an exhibition that we’re trying to put together in the fourth quarter of this year,” Mathur told reporters.
While the primary focus is on an exhibition, Mathur did not completely dismiss the idea of Pacquiao making a professional comeback.
”Nobody is set, no opponent is set in stone yet. We’re still working on that,” he added. “There’s a possibility.There is a possibility that’s there, but nothing is confirmed yet. So there’s nothing that’s been solidified or confirmed at all yet.”
Why the Mayweather Rematch Was Pushed Back
The update comes two weeks after the scheduled September showdown with Mayweather was officially delayed. Mathur confirmed that while the September date is off the table, organizers are targeting a rescheduled date early next year.
”The Floyd fight that everybody wants to know about, that fight is being postponed. Right now, the new tentative date that we have is going to be January. But there’s still other technicalities that need to be addressed before, based on other contractual obligations that Floyd has,” Mathur explained. “So those need to be met in order for this to happen. It was a little bit of a mess that whole situation.”
The delay appears to stem from a series of complications surrounding Mayweather’s camp:
- Legal Hurdles: An ESPN report revealed that a planned Mayweather exhibition in Greece was recently halted after an injunction was sought by an events company associated with the Pacquiao bout.
- Internal Gridlock: Pacquiao’s camp had previously attributed the delay to “a volatile mix of federal lawsuits, scheduling overbooks, and financial gridlock completely surrounding the Mayweather camp.”
Despite the logistical setbacks, Mathur assured boxing fans that the rescheduled mega-fight is still on track to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, though the exact venue remains unannounced.