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Floyd Mayweather Jr. faces a Thursday deadline to rectify a contract breach concerning his rematch with Manny Pacquiao. Jas Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, informed www.boxingscene.com that Mayweather has violated already signed agreements. The Michigan-born boxer announced that the bout, slated for The Sphere in Las Vegas, would be an exhibition. Mathur clarified that Mayweather had already received advance payments based on agreements for a professional rematch with Pacquiao.
“The fight is contracted for The Sphere, booked at The Sphere, scheduled at The Sphere for September 19th. It’s recorded as a professional fight, not an exhibition. It was never planned as such. From the very beginning of discussions in August, there were no negotiations for an exhibition match,” Mathur stated.
“There was never any talk of an exhibition match. Anyone can say what they want. Floyd can create his own version months later, but based on the signed contracts, this is a real fight,” Mathur emphasized.
Pacquiao, who returned to the ring in excellent health after his unanimous decision loss to Mayweather in 2015, looked sharp in his draw against then-WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios in July.
“Simply put, he suddenly doesn’t want a professional match, but he wanted one when he was signing contracts and taking advances,” Mathur declared. “After all that’s done, he wants to change it to an exhibition. Whatever the reason – whether he’s scared, or just wants to continue with exhibition matches because he thinks they’ll generate as much as the first one with Logan – whatever his reason, we truly don’t care.”
Mathur declined to disclose the guaranteed sum Mayweather stands to earn, nor how much he has already received in advances. These figures are based on the match being a professional bout sanctioned by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Netflix’s viewership expectations are also predicated on the understanding that this will be a legitimate fight.
“Everything from the start has been about a real fight. He is currently in breach. He needs to provide written confirmation by tomorrow that he intends to cure the breach, and there’s a specific timeframe... there are multiple breaches across all clauses,” Mathur added.
Mathur stated that he and others have already contacted Mayweather to rectify the situation.
“He is fully aware. This guy thinks he knows what he’s doing every time, and when people try to reach out to him to help or give advice, he always says, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine, I’ve got it all figured out.’ That’s definitely not the case, because we don’t know what our next steps are,” Mathur said.
Mayweather has been asked to provide written confirmation that he intends to “honor his contract, have a fair fight, and put on a bout that lives up to the deal without diminishing or disrespecting anyone involved in organizing it,” Mathur stated.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao is reportedly irritated by Mayweather’s backtracking.
“Manny is not happy... he was looking forward to this rematch. No one else had received a contract, and Netflix’s involvement as a media powerhouse carries significant weight.”
Asked if the bout could proceed as an exhibition match, Mathur responded:
“The fight will not take place as a pure exhibition match under the contract, terms, and platform we are partnered with today. As far as I’m concerned, we have no interest in an exhibition match with Floyd Mayweather.”
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