A chance meeting in Japan has led to negotiations for a rematch of the highest grossing fight in boxing history, Manny Pacquiao has revealed.
But the former eight division world champion hasn’t ruled out another opponent if a deal can’t be made with the recently retired Floyd Mayweather Jr.
“We will finalise the fight this week, either Mayweather or somebody else, where and when, what date,” said the 39-year-old Filipino in comments published by Fox Sports Australia.
“There’s also Amir Khan, Terence Crawford and Adrien Broner.
“We met in Japan at an event, it’s a big fight. We just ran with Mayweather in Japan and the reaction of the fans was so big.
“Maybe we can do the fight in Tokyo.
“He said ‘easy fight, easy fight’. I said ‘let’s get it on and get back to the ring, we will fight. I have the belt’.”
Mayweather flagged his return to the ring in a post on social media over the weekend.
“I’m coming back to fight Manny Pacquiao this year. Another 9 figure pay day on the way,” Mayweather posted.
In May 2015 the undefeated American scored a dull 12-round points decision over Pacquiao in a bout dubbed “The Fight of Century”.
Mayweather retired in 2015 after defeating former IBF welterweight champion Andre Berto on points but returned in August last year to score just his second stoppage victory in a decade when he halted boxing debutant and mixed martial artist Conor McGregor in 10 rounds.
Pacquiao 60-7-2 (39) returned to the winner’s circle in July with a seventh round technical knockout of faded Argentinean veteran Lucas Matthysse to claim the WBA ‘regular’ welterweight title in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The victory came a year after Pacquiao lost his WBO welterweight crown to unheralded Australian Jeff Horn.
The 41-year-old Mayweather holds a record of 50-0 (27).
