- Manny Pacquiao and Shakur Stevenson remain in negotiations for a bout on the same Cardiff card as Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua on December 11
- Pacquiao's financial terms are still being worked out, according to his adviser, with December 18 floated as a fallback date
- No weight class, round count or title terms have been agreed, and the near two-decade age gap between the pair is already dividing opinion
Netflix Wants A Double Main Event, And This Is The Fight They Have In Mind
Right then. As if December 11 in Cardiff was not stacked enough already with Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua headlining for the vacant WBA Super heavyweight title, word out of the negotiating rooms is that Netflix want a second box-office name added to the bill. Manny Pacquiao and Shakur Stevenson remain in talks for exactly that slot, and according to people close to the discussions, the holdup is not interest from either side — it is the numbers on the contract. "Pacquiao's financial terms are still being negotiated," his adviser confirmed, which in boxing usually means everybody wants the fight except the people writing the cheque.
December 18 has been floated as a fallback date if Cardiff cannot fit both events onto one bill, which tells you the promotion is serious about making this happen one way or another, just not necessarily on the same card as advertised.
The Age Gap Nobody Is Pretending Isn't There
Pacquiao is 47 years old. He returned from a lengthy layoff last year and drew with Mario Barrios, a result that split opinion on whether the legend has anything left or simply got the benefit of the doubt from generous judges. Stevenson is 29, unbeaten in 25, and coming off a win over Teofimo Lopez back in January that confirmed his status as one of the sport's most gifted technicians. Let's not beat around the bush: an eighteen-year gap between a boxer at the tail end of a Hall of Fame career and a fighter entering his prime raises obvious questions, whatever the eventual result.
None of that will stop it selling. Pacquiao's name still moves subscriptions in a way very few active fighters can match, and Stevenson, since signing with Zuffa Boxing, has made no secret of wanting the fights that build his profile rather than simply protect his zero. Beating a legend, even a 47-year-old one, does exactly that in the eyes of a casual audience who will tune in for Pacquiao regardless of what shape he is in.
Weight, Rounds, Everything Still Up In The Air
What we do not have yet is any agreement on the actual terms. Pacquiao's return last year came at welterweight; Stevenson has spent his career several divisions lighter and has never fought remotely that big. Round count and any title implications remain unresolved too. If you know, you know that when this many blanks are still unfilled this close to a supposed date, there is still real work to do before anybody should call this fight official.
The Verdict
I understand exactly why Netflix want this. A Pacquiao fight guarantees eyeballs that a pure boxing audience alone will not deliver, and pairing it with Fury-Joshua turns December 11 into appointment viewing for people who do not normally watch the sport. But I would not get carried away yet. Financial terms holding up a Pacquiao fight has killed more mega-fights than any weight or venue dispute ever has, and until his side signs, this is talk, not a fight. If it does happen, I expect Stevenson's hand speed and footwork to be too much for Pacquiao by the midpoint, but the man has defied that exact prediction before. Proper name, proper occasion if it gets over the line — the money is the only thing standing in the way.