The ongoing tinkering with the Floyd Mayweather Jnr-Manny Pacquiao rematch strayed into an 11th-hour date and site adjustment, placing the Netflix-streamed bout at T-Mobile Arena now on a Friday night, September 25.

Less than 24 hours ago, both Pacquiao and an official close to negotiations told BoxingScene the bout – which had been shifted off September 19 at The Sphere in Las Vegas – was moving to September 26, most likely at MGM Grand.

Yet with T-Mobile Arena offering greater overall and suite-seating capacity, and Netflix boasting prior success with Friday night fight cards topped last year by Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano and Anthony Joshua-Jake Paul, the final move was struck.

“It’s all about the finances and how you can scale the venue for a maximum gate,” said one of the officials who confirmed on Friday the final date and site switch first reported by The Ring Magazine.

While Mayweather adores MGM Grand and fought there 12 consecutive times from his 2007 triumph over Oscar De La Hoya to his final bout against a former boxing titleholder in 2015 versus Andre Berto, he did fight former two-division UFC champion Conor McGregor at T-Mobile Arena in 2017.

Mayweather-Pacquiao I, the richest prizefight in history, was also staged at MGM Grand in 2015.

The lengthy wait for that first fight has been mirrored on a lesser scale with the rematch, after Mayweather told reporters in late March the bout would be an exhibition and not count as a loss on his 50-0 record if Pacquiao defeated him.

Multiple signed contracts forced Mayweather to concede it would indeed be a professional fight, exposing him at age 49 to his first career loss against Pacquiao, 47, who fought then-WBC welterweight belt holder Mario Barrios to a draw at MGM Grand in July.

Pacquiao has fought at T-Mobile Arena once, losing a welterweight title fight to Yordenis Ugas in 2021.

MGM is the co-owner and operator of T-Mobile Arena.

“MGM took a look at it, and wants a bigger event,” said another individual connected to the bout who received overnight confirmation of the change.

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.