Floyd Mayweather recently cast doubt on his rematch with Manny Pacquiao, contradicting the official announcement.
In February, ‘Money’ Mayweather and Pacquiao announced that they would meet in the ring for a second time this year, over a decade on from their first encounter.
The fight – to be the first boxing card hosted at The Sphere in Las Vegas and streamed live by Netflix – was billed as a professional contest, meaning Mayweather would be putting his famous 50-0 record on the line for the first time since 2017.
However, speaking at an event this past weekend, the 49-year-old defensive master said that it would be an exhibition fight with no such stakes. He also claimed that the venue was not finalised, and the futuristic Sphere is only an option.
Pacquiao has now responded via Fight Hub TV, confirming a contract has been signed for a professional fight.
“Is that what he’s feeling? But he signed a contract for a real fight … I don’t want to fight an exhibition, it’s a real fight. That’s the contract that he signed. He has to remember that … There’s no reason that [it won’t happen.]”
With streaming giant Netflix behind it, it is highly unlikely the fight would have been announced without contracts being finalised, meaning Mayweather’s comments could be either gamesmanship or an attempt to revisit the original terms.
Both men are booked for exhibitions this year before the money-spinning rematch – Floyd is to face Mike Zambidis in June and Mike Tyson on a date yet to be confirmed, and ‘PacMan’ had previously announced a bout with Ruslan Provodnikov, though the Russian’s team recently said they are unsure where things currently stand. Whether or not any of these go ahead remains to be seen.
