Deja vu\u2026 or deja disaster?<\/p>\n
A long-awaited rematch<\/a> between boxing legends Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao is once again surrounded by controversy.<\/p>\n The bout is currently scheduled for Sat., Sept. 19, 2026, and was expected to take place inside the expensive Sphere<\/a> in Las Vegas, Nevada, streaming exclusively on Netflix. But according to recent reports \u2014 and comments from Pacquiao\u2019s team \u2014 things behind the scenes have gotten messy.<\/p>\n Given how notoriously difficult it was to make their first fight<\/a> \u2014 which took years of failed negotiations<\/a>, public back-and-forth, and constant roadblocks<\/a> before finally coming together in 2015 \u2014 any kind of rematch was always going to come with a level of caution. Now, with conflicting statements and potential contract issues already surfacing, it feels like history may be repeating itself.<\/p>\n Over the weekend, confusion erupted when Mayweather suggested during a Las Vegas meet-and-greet that the bout might be turned into an exhibition<\/a> \u2014 and that the venue was not yet finalized.<\/p>\n That directly contradicts what Pacquiao\u2019s side believes they agreed to.<\/p>\n \u201cAs of right now, the fight is still on. There is no termination of any sort, and he has signed for a professional fight,\u201d Jas Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, told ESPN<\/a>. \u201cFloyd Mayweather is officially in breach of his contract.\u201d<\/p>\n At the center of the dispute is Mayweather\u2019s reported push to convert the bout from a sanctioned professional fight into an exhibition \u2014 a move Pacquiao\u2019s team claims violates the signed agreements.<\/p>\n Mathur didn\u2019t hold back when addressing the situation.<\/p>\n \u201cNo one in these last three months has brought up anything related to the venue or related to the fight not being a professional fight,\u201d Mathur said. \u201cHis team has had all the contracts. He signed all the contracts. We have the DocuSign proofs as well as wet signatures with his device ID, with his IP address, with everything there.\u201d<\/p>\n He also suggested that Mayweather\u2019s hesitation could be tied to protecting his undefeated record.<\/p>\n \u201dIf he\u2019s scared of Manny and he does not want to put his record on the line in a professional boxing match, not only should he have never executed any of these agreements, but he should just come out right and say it because Manny ain\u2019t scared,\u201d Mathur added. \u201cWe wanted to do something that makes history, and he wants to come around and try to change terms last minute because he thinks he can. No, he can\u2019t. Not happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Another layer of the dispute involves Mayweather\u2019s other commitments.<\/p>\n