Floyd Mayweather has opted out of a second exhibition bout in Asia to pursue a rematch with Manny Pacquiao.
The undefeated American retired in 2017 following his big money but ultimately one-sided bout against UFC star Conor McGregor, which he won by 10th round TKO.
Mayweather returned to the ring last New Years Eve to collect a £7million paycheque in an exhibition with Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in Tokyo.
According to The Sun, Mayweather has turned his back on the opportunity to fight a second exhibition bout in China in order to purse the Pacquiao rematch.
“Mayweather came two times to Hong Kong, he spoke with my son Jayson and we had communications but now he is focusing [on] the Pacquiao rematch,” said Jay Lau of Hong Kong’s DEF Promotions.
“We were talking about an exhibition in China, a big event but not a recorded professional boxing fight. Something like Mayweather vs Tenshin in Japan.
“We spoke a bit about doing a special fight in China, but halfway through he turned to the Pacquiao rematch, so we stopped.”
The 42-year-old Mayweather defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision in their first fight back in May 2015. Despite being billed as the ‘Fight of the Century’ the bout failed to deliver the sort of action many fans were expecting.
Pacquaio, 40, looking in vintage form as he defeated Keith Thurman for the WBA welterweight world title in his last outing in Las Vegas in July.
