A boxing insider has explained what rules could be in place after it was confirmed that Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao have agreed to a rematch set to take place in Las Vegas in September.
Mayweather, 49, and Pacquiao, 47, previously fought in 2015, with the American coming out on top with a unanimous decision victory.
In 2017, the 49-year-old retired with a perfect professional record of 50 wins from as many fights. Since then, he has engaged in several exhibition bouts against social media personalities, including Logan Paul and Deji Olatunji.
Mayweather recently agreed to fight former heavyweight world champion Mike Tyson this spring; however, an official date has yet to be confirmed.
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As for Pacquiao, following the first Mayweather bout, he continued to box as a professional and had a further eight bouts against top operators such as Jessie Vargas, Keith Thurman and Mario Barrios.
The Filipino, who has won 12 world titles across eight weight classes, previously retired in 2021 to focus on his career in politics, but returned to fight Barrios for the WBC welterweight title in 2025.
It remains unclear how many rounds Mayweather vs Pacquiao 2 will be, with potential weight regulations also unclear.
However, Marcos Villegas, who is the founder of Fight Hub TV, explained that he has heard rumours about what rules may be in place for the bout.
Villegas explained: “The fight will be a real fight, it’s not an exhibition fight. A real sanctioned fight, and whoever wins, this win will be added to their official professional fight record, but in terms of weight and rounds, nothing has been worked out yet.
“I believe they are still figuring things out and still negotiating how many rounds and what weight it’s going to be, even though I hear whispers of a potential catchweight, given the time Floyd has been out of the ring.”
One thing that has been decided is the date, with the bout set to take place at the Sphere in Las Vegas on 19 September. Netflix has also been confirmed as the official broadcaster.
In a press release, Mayweather promised that this time around would “be the same result”.
“I want Floyd to live with the one loss on his professional record, and always remember who gave it to him,” Pacquiao added.
“As always, I dedicate this fight to my fellow Filipinos around the world and to bringing glory to the Philippines.”
Topics: Boxing, Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao
Luke Davies