Manny Pacquiao has set his sights on unbeaten American star Shakur Stevenson for a potential bout before the year ends, after a long-rumored rematch with Floyd Mayweather collapsed under the weight of Mayweather’s legal troubles.
The Filipino legend’s camp has pivoted to Stevenson, the reigning WBO super-lightweight champion who just signed with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, according to Boxing News. A fight would force Stevenson to move up to welterweight, where Pacquiao has made his most recent mark.
From Mayweather to Stevenson
The Stevenson matchup emerged only after Mayweather, who beat Pacquiao by unanimous decision in 2015, was ruled out by his own legal entanglements. Boxing News reported the two Hall of Famers were “supposed to square off later this month, only for Mayweather’s legal woes to rule him out of action.”
Stevenson had originally built his 2026 around a Zuffa Boxing debut and a 147-pound campaign. The 28-year-old southpaw has held world titles at super featherweight and lightweight before his current run at 135 pounds, where he claimed the WBO super-lightweight strap in dominant fashion earlier this year.
What a Pacquiao-Stevenson fight would mean
For Pacquiao, now 47 and still chasing a signature win in his late-career comeback, Stevenson offers the kind of generational matchmaking that defined his 2000s run. A Stevenson fight would slot Pacquiao into a marquee event with a younger unbeaten fighter, the profile his team has wanted since his 2021 retirement.
Nothing has been confirmed regarding a date or location, Boxing News noted. Stevenson would likely need to jump up to 147 pounds, and Zuffa’s promotional calendar still has to be worked around. For now, the eight-division world champion is “hanging around just long enough to secure his shot at revenge” against Mayweather, the outlet added, with the Stevenson talks positioned as a Plan B that could pay off bigger.
Filipino boxing fans should know that this story is moving fast: Pacquiao’s team has not announced a signed deal, and Stevenson still has unfinished business at 135. But the outlines are in place, and a Pacquiao-Stevenson welterweight bout would be the most significant cross-promotional fight of 2026.
