Mayweather vs Pacquiao 2: Rematch in Doubt & Contract Breach Claims

Boxing fans were buzzing when the announcement of the second Floyd Mayweather Jr. And Manny Pacquiao fight was announced. The highly anticipated rematch was slated for September 19 at The Sphere in Las Vegas. But since then, there has been a lot of confusion surrounding the bout.

According to ESPN, Mayweather said that it might not take place at The Sphere in Las Vegas and that it would be an exhibition.

“As of right now, we don’t know exactly where the fight is going to be,” Mayweather said. “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.”

Floyd Mayweather, via ESPN

Jas Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, dismissed Mayweather’s remarks, asserting the fight remains scheduled as a professional contest.

“As of right now, the fight is still on. There is no termination of any sort, and he has signed for a professional fight,” Mathur said. “Floyd Mayweather is officially in breach of his contract. He’s been in a breach since the day he went out and said what he said on Saturday and he’s officially in a breach as of yesterday.”

Jas Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, via ESPN

Mathur further claimed Mayweather has violated the terms of their agreement, citing multiple signed contracts dating back to January. He detailed that Mayweather received funds related to all three agreements, and even an advance on his fight purse.

“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,” Mathur explained. “The first one was on October 24th. The second one was on November 6th. The 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.”

According to a report from Yahoo Sports, a site visit involving representatives from Manny Pacquiao Promotions, Mayweather Promotions, and Netflix had already taken place at The Sphere, with producers from Hidden Empires, EverWonder Studios and Limitless X Holdings also in attendance.

Despite the dispute, Mayweather currently has other fights scheduled, including an exhibition match with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on April 26 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and a bout against Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis in June in Athens, Greece.