Floyd Mayweather to fight kickboxing legend in June, 3 months before Manny Pacquiao rematch
· Yahoo Sports
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is set take part in two exhibition boxing matches before his rematch with Manny Pacquiao in September.
Mayweather, 48, and former heavyweight great Mike Tyson, 59, were already headed for an April 25 showdown — and now the former has another date for his diary. Two months after clashing with Tyson, Mayweather is now scheduled to take on Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis in another exhibition in June at the Telekom Center in Athens, Greece.
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Zambidis, 45, is an 18-time world champion and retired with a 157-24 record in kickboxing. He hasn't taken part in an official fight since June 2015.
Said Mayweather in a Monday statement:
"2026 is already shaping up to be an exciting year for me.
"Europe, I'm on the way to entertain!! Athens, Greece, get ready. This summer will be a legendary battle.
"June is the month where history will be made at the Telekom Center.
"Different energy. Different level."
Both exhibition bouts will serve as warm-ups for Mayweather's Netflix rematch with Pacquiao on Sept. 19 at Las Vegas' Sphere.
Mayweather is no stranger to exhibitions. Since his final professional fight against Conor McGregor in 2017, the Hall of Famer has taken part in an handful of exhibition matches, including a 2018 contest against kickboxing star turned boxer Tenshin Nasukawa and a 2021 fight with WWE star Logan Paul.
The first fight between Mayweather and Pacquiao in 2015 was the richest in boxing history. It generated a record-breaking 4.6 million U.S. pay-per-view buys, and the live gate — money from ticket sales — was a staggering $72 million. The event was gigantic, but ultimately the in-ring product was a disappointment. Mayweather used his defensive prowess to box to a comfortable decision victory over Pacquiao to unify three welterweight belts.
With Mayweather having been retired for the better part of nine years, and Pacquiao just seven months removed from a controversial draw with then-WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios — a bout which many thought should've resulted in Pacquiao being crowned as the second-oldest world champion in boxing history — the odds may well be in Pacquiao's favor by the time September's rematch rolls around.