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| Manny Pacquiao is the new vice president of the IBA. Ivan Saldajeno |
QUEZON CITY—Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao confirmed on Wednesday that negotiations are underway for a future fight sometime in the first quarter of 2026.
However, the former eight-division world champion clarified that nothing is concrete yet as to whom he will fight next, amid a report from Ring Magazine's Mike Coppinger that a rematch against former undefeated champ Floyd Mayweather is in the works.
"There's a lot of ongoing negotiations right now, so it's hard to preempt what fight I'm going to push through. So I'm just waiting for the final negotiation, but right now, we have a lot of negotiations about my next fight," said Pacquiao, who was officially introduced as the vice president of the International Boxing Association in a press conference at the Novotel Manila Araneta City Ballroom hours before the start of the Thrilla in Manila 50th anniversary card at the adjacent Smart Araneta Coliseum here.
He did confirm, though, that Mayweather is an option as well as a showdown against former lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko.
"We're going to announce the final decision of the fight. We're going to post it," Pacquiao further said.
He also said, though, that he is very much interested in a possible second clash against Mayweather.
"I'd love to have a rematch with Floyd Mayweather, so I hope that we can understand each other and we can negotiate well," Pacquiao continued.
Both boxing superstars fought in 2015, with Mayweather winning via unanimous decision, but a good number of fans were disappointed at how the bout went, especially since they were expecting an all-out war between welterweight greats.
According to Coppinger, should negotiations succeed, the Pacquiao-Mayweather 2 could be seen live on Netflix following the success of the Saul "Canelo" Alvarez-Terence Crawford fight card on Sept. 14 (Philippine Time).
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