Floyd Mayweather has bigger problems than picking an opponent right now.
The IRS, according to an in-depth report by The Ring, has notified the undefeated boxing legend of its intention to revoke his US passport over an unresolved, seriously delinquent tax debt of upward of $7.25 million. The total figure includes tax liens and levies as reviewed by The Ring. The notification was sent in late March, nearly a month before Mayweather publicly announced a June 27 exhibition against Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis in Athens on April 23. If the passport is revoked, that fight—and potentially much more—goes with it.
The timing could not be worse. Mayweather has multiple major events in various stages of planning, and every single one of them is now under a cloud.
The Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao Rematch
The most significant of those is a planned rematch with Manny Pacquiao, announced by Netflix on February 23 as a professional fight that would count on both men’s records. The event was set for September 19 (September 20 in the Philippines) at The Sphere in Las Vegas—more than 11 years after their first fight in May 2015, one of the most commercially successful boxing matches in history.
Since then, the story has changed. On March 28, Mayweather publicly claimed the event was an exhibition rather than a professional fight and said the venue was undecided. The Ring, however, reviewed documents signed by Mayweather that explicitly state it is a professional fight at The Sphere. Pacquiao, for his part, made his position clear on the April 13 episode of Inside The Ring.
“I wouldn’t fight an exhibition,” Pacquiao said. “It’s either a real fight or nothing.”
Multiple sources told The Ring that both sides remain in active negotiations to finalize the event as a real fight, and that the venue has shifted from The Sphere to either MGM Grand Garden Arena or T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Both fighters are in the later stages of their careers—Mayweather is 49, Pacquiao is 47—but the commercial appetite for a second meeting is clearly there.
The Mike Tyson Exhibition
The Pacquiao situation is complicated. The Floyd Mayweather versus Mike Tyson exhibition may be in even more trouble.
Mayweather announced on September 4 that he would meet the former heavyweight champion in an exhibition, but no date or location was confirmed. The announced promoter, CSI Sports, was contractually required to stage the event by April 30. That deadline passed. An extension to May 30 was agreed upon, per sources, but multiple locations outside the United States were being discussed—including the Democratic Republic of Congo as the leading option. A passport revocation would make any international event impossible.
Mark Taffett, head of CSI Global Live Events, did not respond to a request for comment from The Ring on the status of the Tyson exhibition.
What Mayweather Can Do
At the moment, the IRS has not yet revoked the passport—it has notified Mayweather of its intention to notify the Department of State. That distinction matters because it leaves Mayweather a window to act. According to the documents reviewed by The Ring, several paths exist to prevent the revocation:
- Paying the debt in full.
- Reaching an installment agreement or settlement with the Department of Justice.
- Establishing that the debt is uncollectable due to financial hardship or identity theft.
- Filing for bankruptcy.
Multiple attempts by The Ring to reach Mayweather or an official representative for comment were unsuccessful.
