Filipino boxing icon and former Senator Manny Pacquiao has rejected Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s claim that their scheduled September showdown is merely an exhibition, stressing that both fighters signed for a professional bout.
Pacquiao, the sport’s only eight-division world champion, said the agreement was clear from the start.
“That’s what he’s feeling but he signed for a real fight,” Pacquiao explained. “The contract that we signed is for a real fight. I wouldn’t fight in an exhibition. It’s a real fight.”
Mayweather, however, recently contradicted earlier announcements from Netflix, saying the contest was not an official fight.
“We don’t know the location of the fight. The Sphere is one of the places that they talked about. So, we don’t know if it’s a hundred percent going to be there. And this is not actually a fight, it’s an exhibition,” Mayweather said.
An exhibition bout would mean the outcome would not affect either fighter’s professional record.
Pacquiao’s promotional company, MP Promotions, warned Mayweather of a possible breach of contract if the fight does not proceed as agreed.
“Floyd Mayweather signed not one, not two, but three different agreements on three different dates with two different parties that ultimately got intertwined in the month of January,” MP Promotions President Jas Mathur told ESPN.
“And this is all related to his return to professional boxing. First one was on October 24th. The second one was on November 6th. Third one was on December 14th. He received money for all three agreements when he signed them. Not only that, but he’s also taken out an advance on his purse for his fight against Pacquiao,” Mathur added.
The September bout is billed as the second installment of their 2015 clash, famously dubbed the “Fight of the Century.”