Manny Pacquiao’s upcoming year appears to be set, with an exhibition likely, though not against Ruslan Provodnikov, ahead of a long-awaited showdown, a rematch, against ex-opponent Floyd Mayweather.
The welterweight rivals broke the boxing internet earlier this week when Netflix confirmed they’d fight their do-over at The Sphere that the OTT platform will broadcast around the world from Las Vegas.
Pacquiao wanted the fight only under one condition — that Mayweather’s unbeaten record was on the line, and he accepted the terms so they could combine once again to try and rekindle the magic that built toward their 2015 spectacle generating enough pay-per-views to become the best-selling fight in history.
Linked with an exhibition against Provodnikov, that unofficial show is “a breach,” Boxing Social understands, and so it’s probable it doesn’t go ahead, though Pacquiao could still engage an alternative opponent in a similar match-up and event.
The team would treat such a fight as a glorified spar, having already benefitted from the 12-round experience of not only surviving against a much younger opponent in Mario Barrios, last year, but thriving, with many ringside observers — Boxing Social included — deeming the Filipino fighting icon’s work to have warranted the decision, rather than a draw.
And so outside the exhibition, it leaves little room for other fights that won’t scupper the Netflix fight with Mayweather.
Regardless, Pacquiao still intends to compete professionally thereafter.
In fact, the CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, Jas Mathur, told Boxing Social this week that Pacquiao still has a desire to break his own record as the oldest welterweight champion in the sport’s history.
It was what motivated him to return against Barrios, who was WBC champion at 147 pounds at the time.
And, after his manager Sean Gibbons ruled out a rematch with Barrios, it’s likely why a fight with Rolando Romero had been mooted, too, considering Rolly won the WBA title for his sublime performance over Ryan Garcia in May 2025.
So, is a fight with Romero still a possibility for Pacquiao, once he’s taken part in an exhibition warm-up ahead of a fully sanctioned fight with Mayweather, later this year?”
“I’m close with both of them,” Mathur told Boxing Social.
Mathur says he works with both fighters through his company Limitless X Holdings Inc., a direct to consumer eCommerce business that offers health, wellness, and fintech, among other brand development tools. “Rolly’s a shareholder, and so is Manny,” he said.
“So, that’s possible.”
“Manny absolutely would want to get a world title” after he’s fought Mayweather, Mathur said.
As for the Mayweather event, Mathur is confident it’ll prove a spectacular show as it combines two of the most significant athletes of the 21st century with one of the biggest platforms, in Netflix, with arguably the most state-of-the-art venues the world has ever seen.
“The Sphere is a great venue for entertainment,” Mathur said. “What we’re putting on is something that has never been done before in the history of boxing. [The Sphere] allows Netflix to show off the quality of the production of what they can do. It allows people all around the world to see what The Sphere is in Las Vegas. It amplifies everything on another level.”
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