Former lightweight world champion Jose Luis Castillo, who arguably gave Floyd Mayweather his toughest challenge in 2002, has offered a prediction for his former foe’s rematch with Manny Pacquiao.
It was revealed earlier this year that the pair were set to collide at The Sphere in Las Vegas on September 19, only for increasing uncertainty to surround both the date and venue.
Now, it has been reported by Mike Coppinger that the two pound-for-pound legends have reached a new deal, agreeing to square off at the T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, on September 25.
Still, their professional rematch is set to be streamed live on Netflix, with Mayweather putting his iconic 50-0 record on the line.
Their first encounter, in 2015, saw the American emerge with a comprehensive unanimous decision victory, headlining the most lucrative boxing event of all time.
Since then, though, his only professional outings have come against Andre Berto and Conor McGregor, who he dispatched with a 10th-round finish in 2017.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, has entered eight fully-sanctioned bouts over the past decade, with the most recent of these ending in a controversial draw against Mario Barrios last July.
But despite that, former Mayweather opponent Castillo, who says he should have got the decision when they first met in April 2002, has told ESNEWS that, while both are “old men”, ‘Money’ should still have the edge over his rival.
Mayweather and Castillo shared the ring on two occasions in 2002, with the Mexican ultimately losing by unanimous decision in each of them.
And yet, if the three judges had scored their first encounter for Castillo, as many others did, then Mayweather would not be defending his 50-0 record at 49 years old.