HERE COMES THE MONEY
Mayweather comes out of retirement for Pacquiao rematch
Former welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather said on Saturday he was coming out of retirement for a 2018 rematch with Manny Pacquiao.
“I’m coming back to fight Manny Pacquiao this year,” Mayweather, 41, said on his Instagram account. “Another 9 figure pay day on the way.”
An accompanying video showed the two fighters at a music festival in Tokyo but it was difficult to hear what they were saying.
In a later video obtained by ESPN, Mayweather says, “Tokyo Japan here we go .... I’m coming back in December.”
He added: “We gonna get the payday and I don’t want no shoulder excuses.”
A rematch had been speculated for years after the two met in a ballyhooed 2015 fight.
Undefeated Mayweather scored a unanimous decision that earned him an estimated $220-million (R3.2-billion). Pacquiao later said he was hampered by a right shoulder injury.
Mayweather was back in the ring last year, winning by a technical knockout over mixed martial arts world champion Conor McGregor to run his boxing record to 50-0.
He earned a reported $300million (R4.4-billion) and McGregor $100-million (R1.4-billion) in one of the richest fights in history. Pacquiao (60-7-2) last fought in July, knocking out Argentine Lucas Matthysse.
Afterward, when asked about a rematch with Mayweather, the Filipino boxer said: “If he wants to come back in boxing let’s do a second one.”