By ADRIAN STEWART CO

Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao claimed that he is facing fellow retired and undefeated American boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr. in a rematch that will possibly happen in Japan.

The eight-division world boxing champion made an announcement during a mixed martial arts event in Saitama, but he failed to mention if the bout is a professional boxing match or just an exhibition game.

“I hope to see you in Japan in a big fight against … Floyd Mayweather [Jr.],” the 45-year-old Pacquiao announced.

“I am excited. Thank you for always supporting RIZIN promotions,” he added.

Mayweather and Pacquiao first faced each other on May 3, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, where the Las Vegas-native ran away with a 118-110, 116-112 and 116-112 unanimous decision win.

It took Pacquiao and Mayweather five years to hammer out a deal to face each other in a fight that finally gave fans the chance to see the best “pound-for-pound” fighters of their generation face off.

The two nearly came to terms in 2009, a month after Pacquiao demolished Miguel Cotto.

However, it fell apart when Pacquiao and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum opposed Mayweather’s demand for random drug testing.

In the next four years, there were a lot of attempts for renegotiation.

In 2011, former HBO Sports president Ross Greenburg tried to mediate the negotiations, but nothing positive came out.

A year later, Mayweather, who was in Las Vegas, called Pacquiao, who was in General Santos, and offered him a guaranteed $40 million, but with no pay-per-view upside.

Pacquiao declined the offer.

Presently, Pacquiao and Mayweather have retired from professional boxing, and are only stepping inside the ring for exhibition matches.

Pacquiao came from an exhibition match win against South Korean vlogger DK Yoo in December 2022, while Mayweather last fought John Gotti III last June 11, 2023./ASC, WDJ