Boxing legend Floyd Mayweather has announced he will face veteran kickboxer Mike Zambidis in an exhibition bout in Athens, Greece, in June before his rematch with Manny Pacquiao later in the year.
Mayweather, 49, and Pacquiao, 47, will lock horns at the Sphere in Las Vegas on September 19 with the fight being broadcast live on Netflix. The pair first met in 2015 in a matchup billed as the 'Fight of the Century', although it failed to live up to it as Mayweather won a unanimous decision. It was the richest fight in boxing history, generating revenue reportedly in the region of £445 million.
Mayweather announced the news of his exhibition bout against Zambidis on Monday on Instagram.
“2026 is already shaping up to be an exciting year for me,” Mayweather said in the caption to his post. “I'm on the way to entertain!! Athens, Greece … Get Ready For An All Out Exhibition. This summer will be a legendary battle.”
Mayweather has not fought professionally since August 2017, when he stopped MMA superstar Conor McGregor to retire with a perfect record of 50 wins in boxing.
Since then, he has fought a series of exhibition bouts, the last of which was in 2024, a damp squib against John Gotti III, grandson of former mafia boss John Gotti. The bout lasted eight rounds and no winner was declared.
Zambidis, 45, boasts a 157-24 kickboxing record with 87 KOs. His last official fight was in June 2015, when he took a decision over Steve Moxon.
Mayweather is also reportedly scheduled to face fellow boxing legend Mike Tyson in an April exhibition in the Democratic Republic of Congo. However, that hasn't been officially announced yet.
Mayweather's appetite for questionable crossover fights with kickboxers appears to be catching on. Last week, heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk announced he would face former kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt on May 23.
Pacquiao himself announced a Las Vegas exhibition bout against Ruslan Provodnikov for April but it is now unclear whether that will go ahead.
The Filipino legend retired in 2021 to pursue his political ambitions in his homeland before returning to the ring with an impressive performance against Mario Barrios last year.
Pacquiao came up just short in that fight, settling for a majority draw against the now former WBC welterweight champion.
