Pacquiao's Team Pursuing New Fight

Manny Pacquiao's plans for 2026 have shifted after the news the Mayweather rematch is not happening on the original timeline.

Jas Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, said the team is actively working on a new fight opportunity for the 47-year-old and believes the Mayweather bout will follow that — whenever it materialises. Mayweather's ongoing legal issues have delayed negotiations and pushed the rematch back indefinitely.

Pacquiao returned to professional boxing last year against then-WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios, a fight that ended in a draw. The Mayweather rematch has been the centrepiece of his stated ambitions since returning. The two fought in 2015 in what was then the richest fight in boxing history, a twelve-round unanimous decision that Mayweather won and that many observers felt Pacquiao fought through injury. The desire for a second chapter to that story has never gone away on Pacquiao's side.

With that door temporarily closed, Pacquiao's team is weighing the welterweight title picture. If he is serious about breaking his own record as the oldest welterweight world champion — a record he set when he stopped Keith Thurman in 2019 at 40 years old — the current champions provide the path. Devin Haney holds the WBO belt, while Rolando Romero (WBA) and Ryan Garcia (WBC) are the other names. Liam Paro, fresh off a decision over Montana Crocker, is the IBF champion.