Filipino boxing icon says contract signed for professional bout; Mayweather’s camp had suggested September clash at Las Vegas Sphere would be an exhibition.
MANILA/LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao has fired back at Floyd Mayweather Jr., declaring that their planned September rematch is a professional fight — not an exhibition — and that he would not step into the ring otherwise.
The two boxing legends, aged 47 and 49 respectively, announced last month that they would meet at the Sphere in Las Vegas in September, with the bout streaming globally on Netflix. However, Mayweather told Vegas Sports Today last week that the event would be an exhibition bout, not a real fight, and that a venue had yet to be decided.
Pacquiao was unequivocal in his response to local media on Thursday.
“If that’s what he is feeling but he signed for a real match. The contract that we signed is for a real fight,” Pacquiao said. “He has to remember that.”
Promoter backs Pacquiao’s claim
Jas Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions and a producer for the event, backed the Filipino star’s position.
“No one in these last three months has brought up anything related to the venue or related to the fight not being a professional fight,” Mathur told ESPN. “His team has had all the contracts. He signed all the contracts.”
Reuters has requested comment from Mayweather’s camp.
The 2015 legacy
Mayweather, who holds a perfect 50-0 record with 27 knockouts, defeated Pacquiao in their 2015 encounter famously dubbed the “Fight of the Century.” That bout generated a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and a $72 million live gate at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The September rematch, if confirmed as a professional fight, would mark their first meeting in a decade — and potentially the last chapter in one of boxing’s greatest rivalries.
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