Philippines’ boxing legend Pacquiao says fight with Mayweather in September not an exhibition bout

Manny Pacquiao’s planned September fight with Floyd Mayweather will not be an exhibition, the Philippine boxing legend said Thursday, days after his fellow hall of famer said their bout would be strictly entertainment.

Netflix last month announced a long-awaited rematch of the highest-grossing clash in boxing history, with Pacquiao and Mayweather -- now both in their late forties -- set to clash at the Sphere in Las Vegas on Sept.19.

But Mayweather this week stunned the boxing world by suggesting the rivals, whose 2015 bout drove 4.6 million pay-per-view buys, would only be entering the squared circle for show this time around.

“It’s an exhibition, so we’re both winners,” Mayweather said in an interview with Vegas Sports Today. “We just want to go out there and entertain the people and put on a good show.”

On Friday, Pacquiao begged to differ.

“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 said in a statement sent to AFP.

“I wish to clear up any misinformation regarding my upcoming bout against Floyd Mayweather. From the beginning, my intention has been to give the fans what they truly want to see. A high-level, competitive sanctioned fight,” he said.

He added that Netflix’s February announcement of the rematch had “reflected the exact terms of our agreement” and that his team expected the “original terms of the agreement to be honored”.

On Wednesday, Jas Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, blasted Mayweather’s comments in an interview with ESPN, insisting the fight would take place.

“Floyd Mayweather is officially in breach of his contract,” he told the US-based sports outlet.

Meanwhile, Mike Tyson and Mayweather Jr. are set to meet in an early 2026 match-up of boxing Hall of Famers.

Tyson, who will turn 60 next year, will return to the ring after his loss to Jake Paul last year in an eight-round bout. He’ll meet the unbeaten Mayweather, 48, who said the “exhibition will give the fans what they want.”

Tyson barely landed a punch in that eight-round bout, which was nevertheless watched by a live crowd of around 70,000 spectators with an estimated millions more tuning in around the world.

No date or site was provided in the announcement Thursday by CSI Sports, the live boxing production company which will launch a media streaming and broadcast partnership with this event.

“When CSI came to me about stepping in the ring with Floyd Mayweather, I thought, ‘No way this happens,’” Tyson said in the release announcing the fight. “But, Floyd said yes.

“This fight is something neither the world nor I ever thought would or could happen. However, boxing has entered a new era of the unpredictable - and this fight is as unpredictable as it gets,” Tyson added.

“I still can’t believe Floyd wants to really do this. It’s going to be detrimental to his health, but he wants to do it, so it’s signed and it’s happening!”

Tyson was a heavyweight champion and though Mayweather won titles in five weight classes, none was above the 154-pound limit of junior middleweight.

His last official bout of his 50-win career was against MMA star Conor McGregor in 2017. That fight, along with his victories over Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez, were the three richest bouts in boxing history.

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years and there hasn’t been a single fighter that can tarnish my legacy,” Mayweather said.

“You already know that if I am going to do something, it’s going to be big and it’s going to be legendary. I’m the best in the business of boxing. This exhibition will give the fans what they want.”

Earlier, Roy Jones Jr has been handed the Olympic gold medal he was controversially denied in 1988 in an extraordinary act of sportsmanship by the South Korean fighter who beat him.

Hall of Fame boxer Jones shared a video on Wednesday from two years ago that showed Park Si-hun visiting the American’s ranch in Pensacola, Florida to present him with the light middleweight gold medal.

Agencies