Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao are scheduled to go head-to-head in Las Vegas on September 19. During a meet and greet at Caesar's Palace over the weekend, however, Mayweather shut down reports that it would take place at the Sphere. He even claimed that it won't actually be a fight, but instead an "exhibition."
"We don't know the location of the fight," he explained. "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."
Event producer and CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, Jas Mathur, was quick to set the record straight. He accuses Mayweather of breaching his fight contract and claims that, for now, the match is scheduled to go on as planned.
"As of right now, the fight is still on. There is no termination of any sort, and he has signed for a professional fight," he told ESPN. "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."
Read More: Kanye West "Bully" Album Review
Floyd Mayweather & Manny Pacquiao Rematch Drama
Pacquiao has since released a statement of his own amid the controversy, per Dyan Castillejo. “I wish to clear up any misinformation regarding my upcoming bout against Floyd Mayweather," it begins. "From the beginning, my intention has been to give the fans what they truly want to see. A high-level, competitive sanctioned fight. 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."
"We are proud to partner with Netflix, a global platform that recognizes the magnitude of this event. Their announcement reflected the exact terms of our agreement," it continues. "My team and I remain fully committed to the conditions of that contract and we are preparing for a professional-grade battle."
"I am working hard now and started my gym training and I look forward to stepping back into the ring to prove that the fire is still there," Pacquiao concluded. "Nothing has changed on our end and we expect the original terms of the agreement to be honored.”
