Pacquiao Insists Mayweather Bout Will Be ‘Real Fight,’ Not Exhibition

Manny Pacquiao has declared his highly anticipated September clash with Floyd Mayweather will be a professional boxing match, directly contradicting Mayweather’s recent assertion that their bout would be purely for entertainment.

Netflix announced last month that the two boxing legends, both now in their late forties, would face off in a long-awaited rematch of their record-breaking 2015 encounter. The fight is scheduled for September 19 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

However, Mayweather recently surprised the boxing world by suggesting the bout, which previously generated 4.6 million pay-per-view buys, would be an exhibition. He told Vegas Sports Today, “It’s an exhibition, so we’re both winners. We just want to go out there and entertain the people and put on a good show.”

Pacquiao, however, disagreed vehemently on Friday. In a statement released to AFP, he said, “I want to be very clear that the contract we signed is for a professional boxing match. This is not an exhibition; it is a real fight.” He added that his intention has always been to deliver “a high-level, competitive sanctioned fight” to the fans.

Pacquiao’s team expects the “original terms of the agreement to be honoured,” noting that Netflix’s February announcement reflected these terms. Jas Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, told ESPN that Mayweather is “officially in breach of his contract” following his comments.