Former heavyweight champion Floyd Mayweather said on Saturday he was coming out of retirement for a 2018 rematch with Manny Pacquiao.

Undefeated boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. of the U.S. points to UFC lightweight champion Conor McGregor of Ireland during his official weigh-in at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. on August 25, 2017.

“I’m coming back to fight Manny Pacquiao this year,” Mayweather, 41, said on his Instagram account. “Another 9 figure pay day on the way.”

An accompanying video showed the two fighters at a music festival in Tokyo but it was difficult to hear what they were saying.

In a later video obtained by ESPN, Mayweather says, “Tokyo Japan here we go.... I’m coming back in December.”

He added, “I’m going to take it (the belt) from him like I did before. We gonna get the payday and I don’t want no shoulder excuses.”

A rematch had been speculated for years after the two met in a ballyhooed 2015 fight.

Undefeated Mayweather scored a unanimous decision that earned him an estimated $220 million. Pacquiao later said he was hampered by a right shoulder injury.

Mayweather was back in the ring in 2017, winning by a technical knockout over mixed martial arts world champion Conor McGregor to run his boxing record to 50-0.

He earned a reported $300 million and McGregor $100 million in one of the richest fights in history.

Pacquiao (60-7-2) last fought in July, knocking out Argentine Lucas Matthysse.

Afterward, when asked about a rematch with Mayweather, the Filipino boxer said: “I have the belt, so it’s up to him. If he wants to come back in boxing let’s do a second one.”

First Published:Sept 15, 2018 10:23 PM IST