Eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao is putting the full-court press on Floyd Mayweather.
The fighting pride of the Philippines, who had previously said that Mayweather had signed up for a real fight and not an exhibition, doubled down on his point in an interview with ESPN, where he and Money already received part of their paydays.
“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 on Monday. “Even with our first fight, he’s a lot to deal with, but the fight happened.”
Pacquiao Not Calling Mayweather’s Bluff
The confusion surrounding Pacquiao-Mayweather II is mostly due to Mayweather claiming in a recent public appearance that the fight would be an exhibition and that The Sphere is only a tentative location. These pronouncements contradicted Netflix’s initial announcement.
The Pacquiao camp, however, isn’t buying it, with the Pacman himself saying he’s “100% confident” that the rematch will happen as originally announced—a real fight taking place in Las Vegas’ The Sphere.
“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? 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,’” Pacquiao insisted.
Manny Pacquiao Promotions CEO Jas Mathur also weighed in, telling ESPN that Mayweather was in breach of contract with his comments. However, according to Mathur, the two camps have been in contact and are actually “making headway” toward resolving the matter.
So, yes, the Pacman might be right all along. If so, that’s a big win already.
