Las Vegas, Nevada (Exclusive to The Adobo Chronicles) – As temperatures in this desert city rose to a sweltering 113 degrees Farenheit (45 degrees Celsius), the hot news of the day was not about the September 13 boxing rematch between Floyd Mayweather and Argentine challenger Marcos Maidana. It was about the rematch being cancelled (Mayweather narrowly defeated Maidana last May).

Mayweather announced that he was withdrawing from the September fight at the MGM Grand arena and will instead face Filipino boxing champion Manny Pacquiao on the exact same day. The much-awaited Mayweather- Pacquiao face-off will be held at the new Philippine Arena, now the world’s largest indoor arena.

For years, Mayweather has refused to fight Pacquiao because the Filipino congressman has repeatedly refused to undergo a blood test to screen for performance-enhancing drugs. Pacquiao has said that he becomes too weak whenever blood is drawn from him.

What changed?

Apparently, Mayweather is sick and tired of the dry heat that is characteristic of Las Vegas, especially in the summer months. Yesterday, Mayweather  hang up his boxing gloves during his training bout in an undisclosed location on the Las Vegas Strip, complaining about the extreme heat, even with indoor airconditioning.

But the deal breaker for Mayweather was the fact that the Philippine church group, Iglesia Ni Cristo (Church of Christ), offered to increase his prize money – win or lose – for a match with Pacquiao.

Iglesia Ni Cristo owns the 60,000-capacity Philippine Arena located just a few miles north of Manila.

As for the weather in the Philippines, Mayweather was assured that temperatures in September average about 80 degrees Farenheit (26 degrees Celsius) which the Amercan boxer finds to be the perfect weather for his fights.

The Mayweather-Pacquiao fight is being billed as ‘Extreme Weatha in Manila,’ following in the footsteps of the infamous  ‘Thrilla in Manila ‘ between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazer.