Floyd Mayweather’s Comeback in 2026 Tears Apart As the Mike Zambidis fight is called off days before it was supposed to start,
Floyd Mayweather’s latest plan to make a comeback suffered another significant setback when his exhibition fight against Mike Zambidis, scheduled for June 27 in Athens, Greece, was canceled just days before the event. This happened because of a fast-moving court battle over his future in the ring.
TalkSPORT says the fight was canceled after CSI Sports Events sued Mayweather for breaking an exclusive fight deal that had to do with planned fights with Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao. Reports indicate that the company paid Mayweather $4.5 million last year, along with an additional $150,000 prior to the announcement of the Zambidis fight. They said that letting Mayweather fight Zambidis first would cause “irreparable harm.”
The cancellation is yet another blow in the unbeaten boxing legend’s rough 2026 comeback. Mayweather, 49, was linked to several big fights at the beginning of the year, but none of them have happened yet. Mike Tyson broke his hand while training, so his planned practice fight with Tyson had to be pushed back. Now, rumors say that his long-awaited rematch with Manny Pacquiao is also in trouble. Dan Rafael, a writer for Sports Illustrated, said that the Pacquiao fight is “NOT happening in September” and that it might not happen at all until January 2027.
Things with Pacquiao were already not stable. Once upon a time, the rematch was linked to Netflix and The Sphere in Las Vegas. However, Sports Illustrated later claimed that The Sphere would not host the fight on September 19 because the venue had already booked Eagles concerts for that day. Those things made people even less sure about Mayweather’s first real professional fight since his 50-0 win over Conor McGregor in 2017.
Away from the ring, Mayweather is also having more and more legal issues. Reuters said that he is being charged with two felonies in Nevada for writing a $200,000 check for an expensive watch even though he didn’t have the money or credit to cover it. The claims include stealing property worth $100,000 or more and drawing or passing a check to scam someone. Mayweather has not been found guilty, and the case is still being looked into.
Questions about money have also followed him. In April, Business Insider said that the IRS put a lien on Mayweather for $7.3 million because he owed taxes from 2018 to 2023. The news source also said that his lawyer had earlier denied that he was “under financial strain.”
On the other hand, Mayweather is the one who has been suing all the time. ESPN said he sued a former business partner for $175 million over a fraud scheme, and MMA Fighting said he sued Showtime and former executive Stephen Espinoza for $340 million over claimed lost fight earnings.
He built his reputation for years on money, perfection, and being in charge. While the fight with Zambidis has been called off, Tyson’s comeback has been pushed back, and Pacquiao’s future is unclear, and he has a lot of court cases coming up; the biggest fight of his 2026 comeback may not be in the ring.
