A proposed rematch between boxing icons Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao has been put on hold indefinitely, according to a statement released by Pacquiao’s camp in the Philippines on Friday.
The development comes after ESPN reported that Mayweather’s scheduled exhibition fight in Greece had been cancelled following legal action involving a company linked to the planned Pacquiao showdown.
Mayweather and Pacquiao, who generated a record-breaking 4.6 million pay-per-view purchases during their 2015 clash, have recently been embroiled in a dispute over the nature of a rematch announced by Netflix for September.
While Mayweather described the event as an exhibition bout, Pacquiao’s camp strongly disagreed with that characterisation.
In a statement issued on Friday, Pacquiao’s representatives attributed the postponement to “a volatile mix of federal lawsuits, scheduling overbooks, and financial gridlock completely surrounding the Mayweather camp”.
The controversy follows a lawsuit filed last week by events company CSI, which is seeking to recover at least $4.65 million it claims to have paid Mayweather.
The company says the payment secured exclusive promotional rights for both the proposed Pacquiao rematch and a separate exhibition contest against former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson that never took place.
Pacquiao’s camp indicated that any meeting between the two boxing greats is now unlikely to happen before early 2027.
“Should Mayweather and CSI settle their internal contract disputes out of court, promoters will immediately pivot to rescheduling a postponed exhibition between Mayweather and Mike Tyson, tentatively targeting September 12,” the Pacquiao team statement said.
Mayweather, 49, stepped away from professional boxing in 2017 after completing his career with an unbeaten 50-0 record.
The American was originally scheduled to face Greek kickboxing veteran Mike Zambidis in an exhibition contest on Saturday at the Telekon Centre within the OAKA Olympic Complex in Athens. That event has also been called off.
The shelved Mayweather-Pacquiao contest was expected to reignite one of boxing’s most lucrative rivalries, revisiting a matchup that remains the highest-grossing event in the sport’s history.
