The only way to book Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao 2 is to give it the stakes boxing robbed

It was only a matter of time before talk of a Floyd Mayweather-vs.-Manny Pacquiao rematch went from rumor to reality.

Think about it.

Pacquiao, 46, ripped up the script when he returned to the ring in July after four years away, taking the fight to WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios and walking away with a majority draw that many thought he deserved to win. Uncrowned even dubbed it a robbery at the time.

The WBC title is among Mayweather’s favorite trophies. He’s even permanently included on all the sanctioning body’s belts, with his likeness included alongside Muhammad Ali. His first world title win in 1998, against Genaro Hernandez, was for a WBC championship. It would be somewhat fitting for his last to be for a WBC belt, too.

The American, a former five-weight world champion, owns many of the fight game’s pay-per-view records — including his 2015 blockbuster with Pacquiao, which remains the best-selling bout of all time across all of combat sports.

The time to book a rematch should have been far sooner than 2026, which is the date currently in talks, fueled by Netflix’s growing interest in blockbuster boxing bouts. The streaming giant has already aired Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul, an all-women’s showcase from Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions, and the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-vs.-Terence Crawford superfight. It’s also set to broadcast the upcoming exhibition involving Paul and Gervonta “Tank” Davis in November.

A Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch follows the same playbook. These are big names.

Are the stakes as big?

No … at least not yet.

More than 10 years on from their first meeting, the fight currently means little to the modern boxing landscape.

Had the judges rewarded Pacquiao with the decision he earned over Barrios, he would’ve become WBC champion and extended his record as the oldest welterweight titleholder in boxing history.

Mayweather, 48, is two years older than Pacquiao, which could’ve set up an intriguing dynamic, with Floyd not only chasing Manny’s belt, but also his hallowed age record.

An Uncrowned source with knowledge of both camps even said earlier this year that a Pacquiao title win “would trigger something [in Mayweather’s head] for a rematch,” adding that it “would do big business.”

That opportunity has vanished, for now. Pacquiao remains a challenger.

Yet time remains for Pacquiao to flip the narrative, as his eyes remain locked on that Jan. 24 return date.

Rumors pointed to WBA champion Rolando “Rolly” Romero as the frontrunner to be Pacquiao’s next opponent. Like Barrios, Romero offers a title — something tangible. Sean Gibbons, Pacquiao’s long-time manager, even preferred Romero over a Barrios rematch earlier this year.

“F*** Mario Barrios, who the f*** wants to see him?” Gibbons told Uncrowned at the time.

“Manny beat Mario Barrios. What does he need to fight him again for? If Manny Pacquiao wants to continue fighting, there are fighters like ‘Rolly’ Romero, Gervonta Davis. I’ve seen Yahoo Sports … ‘Manny Pacquiao [got] robbed.’”

But the WBA has ordered Romero to face mandatory challenger Shakhram Giyasov, granting a 30-day negotiation window that ends on Nov. 13. Promoter Eddie Hearn, who represents Giyasov, praised the ruling and said his fighter has “been waiting” for the shot.

Manny Pacquiao turned back the clock against WBC champ Mario Barrios this past July.

(Anadolu via Getty Images)

Unless Giyasov accepts a massive step-aside fee — which Hearn appears to doubt — Romero will have to defend his belt or risk being stripped, leaving Pacquiao without the title and the storyline that he needs.

This makes a Barrios rematch a logical fallback.

Barrios has already told Uncrowned that he’d welcome it: “I’ll do the rematch,” he said, just moments after the July draw. “I’d love to do it again.”

A Pacquiao-Barrios 2 runback would let the Hall of Famer right a wrong, reclaim a world title, and set the stage for a Mayweather sequel with genuine meaning. A win would give Pacquiao the belt, the record, and the leverage to tempt Mayweather into one last dance with real stakes for both men, and for the millions who’d surely watch on Netflix.

Without those stakes, though, Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 is just another nostalgia play involving two legends, thrown together and sold as something bigger than it really is.

We can’t rewind time to when a rematch made perfect sense. But Pacquiao can still create the narrative that gives such a bout life that’s relevant, even in 2026: a title, a record — and a reason.

Fans and the wider industry have already told the sport’s veteran fighters that they don’t want manufactured exhibitions. Mayweather’s announced showdown with Mike Tyson fizzled for a reason, and that’s because nobody bought into it. There was never a confirmed broadcast partner, and boxing’s supporters quickly moved to the next headline.

Those same fans could believe in a Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch, though. But only if the stakes are real.

Mayweather has to put his fabled 0 on the line in a real fight, and Pacquiao should bring a real championship to the ring. Together they’d give boxing a story that no exhibition could deliver.