This past weekend, Floyd Mayweather appeared to cast doubt over his upcoming rematch with Manny Pacquiao, suggesting the bout will be an exhibition rather than a professional contest and that the proposed venue, The Sphere in Las Vegas, has not been finalised.
Both claims contradict the official announcement made by Netflix in February.
More than a decade on from their first meeting in 2015, Mayweather and Pacquiao confirmed a rematch for September 19 in Las Vegas. The original press release stated the fight would be a sanctioned professional bout, with Mayweather’s 50-0 record on the line, streamed live on Netflix and set to become the first boxing event staged at the futuristic venue.
However, Mayweather recently told Vegas Sports Today:
“The Sphere is one of the places that they talked about, so we don’t know if it’s 100% going to be there. It’s not actually a fight, it’s an exhibition. We’re going to do it again and hopefully entertain the people.”
Jas Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, responded shortly afterwards on Instagram, as reported by ES News, disputing Mayweather’s comments and suggesting a binding agreement is already in place.
“Men lie, women lie, executed binding agreements don’t.”
A further statement is expected this week, with the situation currently unclear amid conflicting messages from both camps. Mayweather is also scheduled for exhibition bouts later this year against Mike Tyson and Mike Zambidis.
The American has not competed professionally since his win over Conor McGregor in 2017. Pacquiao, meanwhile, challenged for the WBC welterweight world title last year against then champion Mario Barrios, fighting to a draw.
