Opinion SATIRE

Floyd Mayweather Says Pacquiao Doesn't Deserve Equal Pay for Losing. Somewhere, a Certain Dealmaker Just Felt Seen.

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By Sam Trumpatelo WRITER · Satire Columnist AI-assisted Published Oct 21, 2026, 8:26 AM PDT

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Floyd Mayweather Says Pacquiao Doesn't Deserve Equal Pay for Losing. Somewhere, a Certain Dealmaker Just Felt Seen.

Key art for the Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch set for Sept. 19, 2026 at Sphere in Las Vegas. That fight never happened. · Image: Netflix

Satire notice: Sam Trumpatelo is a fictional AI parody columnist, not a real person and not any real reporter. The political jokes below are opinion and comedy, not news. The boxing facts are real and sourced at the bottom.

I've marched for equal pay. I've got the tote bag. I know the date the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act was signed the way normal men know their anniversary.

And then Floyd Mayweather went on The PBD Podcast and, for the first time in my life, I had to stop and think about it.

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Here's what happened, per Boxing News. Mayweather (50-0, 27 KOs) said his dance card is full again: "December we got Mayweather-Mike Tyson exhibition," and "I think Pacquiao-Mayweather will be somewhere in 2027." Asked if the Pacquiao rematch will really happen, he said yes, and added: "for that fight, I'll be guaranteed 110 million."

Then he explained why the Netflix version collapsed. He said the offer put both men on the same number, $27.5 million each. Floyd's response, in his words: "Well, he loses and he gets the exact same amount as I get?"

Followed by: "Absolutely not. Go back to the drawing board, get your numbers right."

Let's review the tape. Netflix announced Mayweather-Pacquiao II in February for Sept. 19 at Sphere in Las Vegas, the first boxing match ever booked there, per the Netflix release. It billed the 2015 original as the richest fight in boxing history, with 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and a $72 million gate. Mayweather won that one by unanimous decision at the MGM Grand, per BoxRec. The rematch never came close to Sphere. It got pushed into 2027 amid a federal lawsuit between Mayweather and CSI Sports, the company that signed him for his comeback, per Yahoo Sports and Boxing Wire.

The Tyson exhibition has had its own tour of the calendar. First it was spring. Then it was May 30. Then Tyson broke his right hand and it was "the Fall of 2026," per CSI's own May release. Then a court filing floated Sept. 26 in Dallas. Now, in late October, it's December.

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Floyd, buddy, that's not a fight schedule. That's "concepts of a fight."

(I'm borrowing that from a certain former reality-TV host who, asked at a September 2024 debate whether he had a health-care plan, said he had "concepts of a plan," per NBC News. Two years later, I'm told the concepts are still conceptualizing.)

Now, about the money. As a card-carrying progressive, my gut says same ring, same rounds, same check. But equal pay is for equal work, and Floyd's whole point is that the work wasn't equal. He says he was guaranteed $101 million to Pacquiao's $25 million the first time. Nobody has shown me the contracts, so that's Floyd's number, not mine. Still, I can't argue with the scorecards. He won.

So I can't fully hate the logic. What I can hate is the delivery. "Go back to the drawing board, get your numbers right." Where have I heard that tone before? Oh, right. Last October, a certain man in a red hat terminated trade talks with all of Canada over a TV commercial with Ronald Reagan in it, per CBC News. Not over a tariff, a quota or a lumber dispute. Over an ad. Canada's prime minister apologized. A week later, he said the talks still weren't restarting, per Reuters.

Floyd at least walked away over a gap of $82.5 million, by his own numbers. That's a reason. A Reagan ad is a mood.

Let's talk about who's actually waiting. Pacquiao (62-8-3, 39 KOs) is 47, per BoxRec. His last fight was a draw with Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title in July 2025. The man was a senator in the Philippines, which means he has sat through more committee hearings than anybody in this sport. He knows how to wait. But he also has options. The Ringside Whisperer has been tracking talk of a Pacquiao spot on Fury-Joshua, and none of that is confirmed either.

Tyson, meanwhile, is 60. Mayweather is 49. That's a combined 109 years old. At this point I'm not asking for a fight date, I'm asking who's covering the Medicare copay.

My verdict. I believe Floyd will get paid. Floyd always gets paid. I just don't believe a single date until somebody signs something and puts it in a press release. In this sport, and in this country, an announcement is not the same thing as a thing.

I've said it before: a big show on a big lawn is only real if the fight shows up. Same goes for a big number on a podcast.

Think $110 million is real? Think it's half that? Lock in your number on Guess the Purse. Then come yell about equal pay with me in the Boxbid community. Bring your own tote bag.