Manny Pacquiao on Floyd Mayweather Jnr rematch: ‘The fight is on’

Manny Pacquiao told BoxingScene on Tuesday that Floyd Mayweather Jnr has formally agreed that their September 19 rematch will be a bona fide professional match, imperiling Mayweather’s cherished unblemished record.

“The fight is on,” Pacquiao texted BoxingScene after Mayweather told reporters in late March that the Netflix-streamed bout at The Sphere in Las Vegas would be an exhibition, with venue arrangements still unfinalized.

In fact, argued the Pacquiao camp, Mayweather, 50-0 (27 KOs), had signed multiple contracts for the fight to be a legitimate professional bout, and had even taken cash advances on the agreements.

Jas Mathur, the president of Pacquiao’s MP Promotions, told “Inside the Ring” on Monday that Mayweather faced an end-of-business Tuesday deadline to confirm he was participating in a pro fight or risk repercussions from Pacquiao, Netflix and others.

Pacquiao urged Mayweather to drop the gamesmanship in a recent interview with BoxingScene.

“You need to honor your commitment,” said Pacquiao, 62-8-3 (39 KOs). “This time, there’s no reason for alibis or excuses.”

Mayweather, 49, defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision in their first clash, the long-delayed 2015 bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas that still stands as the richest prizefight in history.

Pacquiao, 47, returned to the professional ring in impressive fashion last year, fighting then-WBC welterweight titleholder Mario Barrios to a draw, reviving talk of another showdown with the famously fit Mayweather.

Pacquiao has spent April promoting the event, appearing at multiple sporting events, including throwing out the first pitch at Yankee Stadium and speaking to reporters, including BoxingScene.

Pacquiao told BoxingScene at a dinner last week that participating in a high-stakes fight so recently and coming to the fight completely healthy this time, after fighting in 2015 with an injured right shoulder, is “to my advantage because I worked so hard, I had that championship fight. [The Mayweather bout is a] definite victory.”

Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.