Dan Wetzel Feb 25, 2026, 07:48 AM ET

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Dan Wetzel is a senior writer focused on investigative reporting, news analysis and feature storytelling.

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao announced Monday they will fight on Sept. 19 at the Sphere in Las Vegas, broadcast globally on Netflix.

This would have been awesome ... in 2011.

Instead, we get what looks like a cash grab built on nostalgia -- mostly of what never was. It is equal parts depressing and telling about the state of boxing, including the fact that even after two rich and illustrious careers, both fighters apparently need money this badly.

Mayweather is 49 years old; Pacquiao, 47. A decade and a half ago during their prime, they should have fought two or three times, producing a series or trilogy for the history books; two of the greatest to ever step into the ring meeting to crown the best fighter of their generation.

The offensive relentlessness of Pacquiao against the defensive genius of Mayweather.…