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How Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao 2 was born: Hard lines, new money and one last gamble
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- How Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao 2 was born: Hard lines, new money and one last gamble
In 2019, the Los Angeles Clippers were cruising toward a routine win over the Charlotte Hornets at Staples Center. Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell were cooking, and at some point the lead extended to a 20-point margin.
But the moment that would travel furthest that night had nothing to do with basketball.
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Clad in Gucci, Floyd Mayweather Jr. — sitting close enough he could have jabbed a Hornet if he wanted — turned and smirked when he spotted Manny Pacquiao right behind him.
Pacquiao stopped, smiled at him and then dapped his old rival.
One camera caught the interaction from point-blank range and the clip was soon slowed down, mythologized and replayed like a deleted scene from a saga that never quite reached its final act.
Four years earlier, the welterweight greats produced 4.7 million pay-per-view buys by engaging in one of the most meaningful sporting events of all time. Mayweather won convincingly, and has fought professionally just once since. Pacquiao, now age 46, improbably continues to look threatening in the ring.
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That night courtside in Los Angeles, Pacquiao met someone else, too — someone who would help shape his business, and everything that followed.
Enter Jas Mathur, the CEO of Pacquiao Promotions and a pivotal figure in finally getting their second fight across the line.
"This rematch has been talked about for a long time," Mathur told Uncrowned on Tuesday, one day after Netflix's announcement that it is airing the spectacle live, worldwide, on Sept. 19 .
Mathur said "many deals" for a Mayweather rematch were put forth to Manny Pacquiao Promotions since their chance meeting in 2019, but "nothing was ever serious," with too many "middle men trying to skim off of it, twist and turn words, or just block the deal because they wanted to be the ones to present it."
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It took the right performance — and the right platform — to finally change that.
The right performance was Pacquiao's comeback in 2025 , when he rolled back the clock to put a pace on Mario Barrios the then-champion was only able to contain in the latter part of their WBC title fight.
While Pacquiao fell controversially short of making history as the second-oldest world champion ever in boxing, Mayweather, 49, watched July's majority draw with interest. As did Netflix.
"Netflix wouldn't want him [this year] if the performance [against Barrios] wasn't good," Mathur said. "Floyd saw Manny come back and obviously got the itch himself. In Floyd's mind, he's 50-0, and one of the greatest boxers ever … but so is Manny.
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"Netflix feels this is going to be their biggest event in sports history, and it's going to open up whole new markets internationally."
Regardless, there were still obstacles in dragging the rematch across the finish line, and the first was non-negotiable: a pro fight, or nothing at all.
"Manny had no interest in doing an exhibition with Floyd," Mathur said. "Either [Mayweather's undefeated record] is on the line, or there was no deal."
There was no deal more than a decade ago when drug testing continually torpedoed the initial conversations around the first Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, "but there's no issue" on drug testing this time, per Mathur, with Mayweather's preference being the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
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Mayweather also experienced licensing issues when he had to take a Logan Paul exhibition in 2021 to Miami after the Nevada Athletic Commission (NAC) refused to sanction it as a Las Vegas show. But Pacquiao isn't Paul, and the NAC "have no concerns whatsoever," said Mathur.
"It's a sanctioned fight and the date's already reserved with [NAC]. They're both cleared and have had their medicals done."
Many within boxing felt Manny Pacquiao (L) was robbed of a win over then-champ Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title in July.
Netflix, he says, is what made all the difference.
"One of the biggest factors in it being a smoother negotiation this time around than last is because it's Netflix," he said. "A partnership that gives us access to 325 million-plus global subscribers, and international exposure."
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Add Las Vegas' famed Sphere to the equation, which showcased its potential as a blockbuster fight venue with UFC 306 in late 2024, and you have "a great venue for entertainment … that allows Netflix to show off the quality of the production of what they can do, amplifying everything on another level."
As the fight is not until September, both boxers have been linked with warm-up exhibitions.
But while Mayweather appears set to box a glorified spar with Mike Tyson in April, it's unlikely Pacquiao will engage his former training partner Ruslan Provodnikov in a previously-reported exhibition bout .
"That fight is not confirmed, and there's a breach," Mathur said. "So we're in the process of dealing with it.
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"Is there a possibility of a Manny exhibition prior to Mayweather? Yes. Do I personally feel it's going to be that fight? No."
Whatever warmup bout Pacquiao lands, it won't be one that risks compromising what comes next. Those sorts of challenges will come after — whether it's a world title shot or something else.
Pacquiao himself told Uncrowned last year he intends to be active in this surprising late-career run. And though he was seemingly screwed out of a win against Barrios — which would have broken his own record as the oldest welterweight champion in boxing history — he still has world title aspirations.
"If the opportunity presents itself, he definitely wants to [fight for a championship]," Mathur said. "There was the whole thing of him fighting [WBA welterweight world champion] Rolly [Romero] in a pro fight — that's something that can always get done at some point."
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That opportunity vanishes, though, with a loss to Mayweather.
But for Pacquiao and Mathur, there's only one result in mind. They want that win in September so they can force Mayweather to experience something he's never had to previously consider: Defeat.
