The exhibition fight with hall of famer Manny Pacquiao and prominent, but aged like Pacquiao, former junior welterweight champ Ruslan Provodnikov scheduled for April in Las Vegas is now postponed.
The planned exhibition bout between iconic, hall of famer Manny Pacquiao and former junior welterweight champion Ruslan Provodnikov has officially been postponed.
That's according to Artie Pelullo of Banner Promotions. Pelullo, who has long promoted Provodnikov and is overseeing event logistics on behalf of the backer of the fight, Indistry Media, confirmed the postponement in a statement to insider Dan Rafael Friday.
Originally announced in February, the exhibition fight was scheduled to take place April 18th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. It was set to be contested over eight rounds, each lasting two minutes, and at the welterweight limit of 147 lb.. However, organizers ultimately reconsidered the timing of the even with
Indistry Media deciding against moving forward with the pay-per-view card on the same weekend and in the same city, as the WWE's WrestleMania 42, which is slated to take place the same April 18th and 19th at the. massive Allegiant Stadium just off the Vegas strip.
Pelullo stated to Rafael that the exhibition is now expected to take place sometime in June, though an exact date has not yet been finalized. Despite the postponement, the venue will remain the Thomas & Mack Center.
Pacquiao, who is the only fighter to ever hold world titles in eight weight classes, has a record of 62-8-3 with 39 KOs. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame just weeks before his return from a near four-year retirement last July. In that comeback, he fought to a controversial majority draw against then WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios, a result many observers believed Pacquiao deserved to win.
Since, that fight, the 47 year old Pacquiao had been seeking another official bout while looking to secure another high-profile fight. This had prominently included a potential matchup with WBA welterweight titleholder Rolando Romero. But, those fights failed to materialize, leading the Filipino legend to accept the exhibition opportunity with the Russian.
Provodnikov, who is now 42 years old, has a professional record of 25-5, 18 KOs. The Russian brawler has been out of the ring for a decade, having last fought in June 2016, when he lost a unanimous decision to John Molina Jr.
Soon after Pacquiao-Provodnikov proposed battle was announced for April 18th, Netflix, CSI Sports/Fight Sports, Pacquiao and retired rival Floyd "Money" Mayweather announced that Mayweather would end his nine-year retirement from official bouts and face Pacquiao in a rematch on Sept. 19 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
The two fought a highly publicized, but largely dull PPV battle with Mayweather winning the 12 round decision in May of 2015.
Mayweather, is having major financial problems despite having grossed over one billion dollars during his career, including more than $200 million alone for the win over Pacquiao.
Mayweather also has two exhibitions on tap as well. He is has signed for a spring exhibition bout that seems silly against former undisputed heavyweight champion, Mike Tyson, who is now 59 years old. That exhibition still has no set date, site or broadcaster.
And, Mayweather recently announced that he would participate in an exhibition against retired kickboxer Mike Zambidis in June in Athens, Greece.
It's also entirely likely that Pacquiao could skip the Provodinkov exhibition all together to simply fight Mayweather in September.