Floyd Mayweather Jr. is determined to end 2018 with a bang, if Manny Pacquiao is to be believed.
Pacquiao claimed Thursday Mayweather’s next fight will take place on New Year’s Eve. Mayweather, who is retired from boxing with a perfect 50-0 record, hasn’t announced whether he’ll fight again or who his opponent will be if he decides to return to the ring. Nevertheless, Pacquiao seems certain Mayweather will end the year with a fight, which will double as a warm-up for Mayweather versus Pacquiao II.
“Floyd is going to fight on December 31 and I’m going to fight January 12,” Pacquiao said, per The Mirror’s Martin Domin. “After that, we’ll know … he’s coming back, we’ll discuss it after (Adrian) Broner.
“If that fight happens, I want Cinco de Mayo (May 5) or July.”
Mayweather hasn’t fought since August 2017, when he beat UFC superstar Conor McGregor via 10th-round TKO in their much-hyped boxing superfight. Mayweather on Wednesday told TMZ he’s willing to fight Khabib Nurmagomedov for a “nine-figure payday,” but New Year’s Eve almost certainly is too soon for them to square off.
Mayweather in 2015 beat Pacquiao via unanimous decision in their first meeting. Talks of a rematch clearly are underway, and fight fans now can start circling dates on their calendars for another so-called “fight of the century.”
