47-year-old former champion insists bout must count on record
Manny Pacquiao says he wants revenge when he faces Floyd Mayweather on September 19 in Las Vegas. He insists this time there will be no injury, no exhibition terms, and no gray area around the result.
The rematch, set for The Sphere and streamed on Netflix, comes eleven years after Mayweather won a unanimous decision in their 2015 bout. Pacquiao has never accepted that night as a clean read on his ability.
Speaking to ESPN, Pacquiao said the timing aligned once Mayweather stepped back into the picture.
“It just happened that I’m still active in boxing, and then he came out of retirement, so he decided to do it again. I’m so excited for the fight.”
The shoulder injury he disclosed after the first fight still sits with him. He returned to that point when discussing the rematch.
“I learned a lot from that fight way back in 2015. I think we have become mature and we know how to handle it. I hope that it will not happen again like the last fight. I’m hoping this time around, there are no more excuses, especially for my condition and everything. I’m so excited and ready to fight.”
He also drew a firm line on the terms.
“I don’t want to fight in an exhibition with him. I want to fight a real fight. This is what I’m waiting for.”
Pacquiao believes both men have kept their discipline in camp.
“Both of us are disciplined fighters. We are taking care of our bodies. I always work out, almost every day. Right now, I still can fight; I feel like I’m still young. Nothing’s changed.”
At 47, he is chasing something specific. He wants to press the pace, start with the jab, step in with the straight left, and settle what he believes was left unfinished. If he cannot force exchanges and sustain his workrate past the middle rounds, the result will look familiar.
This rematch will show whether Pacquiao can still push a master counterpuncher into exchanges and take the decision out of the judges’ hands.