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| Manny Pacquiao will fight Floyd Mayweather again 11 years after their highly-anticipated first showdown. Peter Baltazar (file photo) |
MANILA—When asked by reporters on Monday about his reaction to Floyd Mayweather's return to competitive professional boxing, Manny Pacquiao curtly hinted at a blockbuster news happening very soon.
"Abangan nyo ang announcement," Pacquiao said, adding that the 49-year-old undefeated pug's return to the squared circle is "good for us."
The announcement came right at the very next day.
Netflix announced on Tuesday that both boxing legends will face off again on Sept. 20 (Philippine Time) in Las Vegas with the said video streaming platform broadcasting the match live.
The match between the former world champs will take place inside The Sphere, marking the first time the indoor venue operated by the people behind Madison Square Garden in New York City will hold a boxing showdown.
It was also confirmed that it will be an official pro fight, which means both their records (Mayweather at 50-0, Pacquiao at 62-8-3) are on the line here.
Both Pacquiao and Mayweather fought a 12-round battle in 2015 in the bout tagged as the "Fight of the Century".
Despite being a blockbuster in terms of gate attendance and pay-per-view broadcasting, the match, won by Mayweather by unanimous decision, did not sit well with boxing fans who wanted he and Pacquiao to slug it out for at most the full 36 minutes.
Pacquiao, now 47, said in a statement that the fans finally got the rematch they wanted for 11 years.
“The fans have waited long enough — they deserve this rematch,” Pacquiao said.
“I want Floyd to live with the one loss on his professional record and always remember who gave it to him.”
On the other hand, Mayweather vowed that he will get one again against Pacquiao.
“I already fought and beat Manny once. This time will be the same result,” Mayweather said in another statement.
Pacquiao and Mayweather are scheduled to play exhibition bouts against Ruslan Provodnikov and Mike Tyson, respectively, before their now anticipated rematch.
