Pacquiao says Mayweather rematch is still on

Manny Pacquiao said he remains “100% confident” that his rematch with Floyd Mayweather Jr. will push through on Sept. 19, despite recent remarks by the unbeaten American that appeared to cast doubt on the event.

Pacquiao said the bout is still set for Sept. 19 at The Sphere in Las Vegas and rejected Mayweather’s suggestion that the event may only be an exhibition.

Mayweather told Vegas Sports Today in early April that “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 100% going to be there. And this is not actually a fight. It’s an exhibition.”

Pacquiao said he immediately questioned that description and insisted the agreement he signed was for a real fight.

“When I heard Mayweather say it was an exhibition, I called my team right away and asked, ‘What’s happening? What’s wrong with this guy?” Pacquiao told ESPN.

“What we signed was a real fight, not an exhibition. I don’t know where he got this idea from or where his head was at, but the fight is a real fight, and it absolutely won’t be an exhibition.”

The planned rematch would revisit one of boxing’s biggest events after Pacquiao and Mayweather first met in 2015 following years of buildup.

That first fight generated more than 4.5 million pay-per-view buys, with Mayweather winning by unanimous decision.

Pacquiao, now 48, and Mayweather, 47, are set to meet again in what is being billed as the first-ever professional boxing match at The Sphere.

Pacquiao said both camps had already signed the contract and received advance payments on their purses, which he said should prevent the bout from being canceled.

“We both signed the contract and we both got our advance on our purses, so there’s no way we’re going to cancel this fight,” Pacquiao told ESPN.

“Even with our first fight, he’s a lot to deal with, but the fight happened.”

Jas Mathur, chief executive officer of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, said Mayweather’s public remarks describing the Sept. 19 event as an exhibition were a breach of contract.

Mathur, however, said both sides were making progress toward resolving the dispute.

“We are 100% confident that the overall outcome from this situation will turn out positive,” Mathur told ESPN on Monday.

“We’re gaining progress and traction. Floyd has to live up to his obligations, and I think he wants this fight to happen, too.”

The bout is also expected to stream on Netflix, adding another major platform to a matchup that already carries high commercial interest because of the fighters’ history and global profiles.

Pacquiao retired in September 2021 as boxing’s only eight-division world champion before returning last year for a WBC welterweight title fight against Mario Barrios, which ended in a majority draw.

Mayweather owns a perfect 50-0 record and won 15 world titles during his career.

He has not fought competitively since his highly controversial bout against former UFC champion Conor McGregor in August 2017.

Mayweather has also said he plans to hold an exhibition against fellow boxing great Mike Tyson this spring, although no date has been set, and announced in February that he would come out of retirement after that bout.

For now, Pacquiao has made clear he considers the Sept. 19 event a legitimate fight, not a showcase, as negotiations continue over details surrounding the rematch.