Manny Pacquiao says Floyd Mayweather Jnr signed multiple contracts for a professional rematch in September, then used those agreements to secure a multi-million-dollar loan. Pacquiao said he told his representatives, “Make him sign first,” and, “Then, I’ll sign,” before agreeing to the bout that he says Mayweather now appears to be wavering on.
Pacquiao and his representatives say Mayweather is in breach of those signed agreements after the former champion described the fight at a public appearance in Las Vegas late last month as an exhibition and said he was not sure whether it would take place at the Sphere. Pacquiao said he knew the contract Mayweather signed was for a real fight and that the other man had already received advances from Netflix and the lender.
The dispute lands today because Pacquiao has made clear he expects the rematch to proceed on September 19, after saying he was enthused from the moment it was announced. He said there is “no reason” for Mayweather to cancel, and warned that if he did, he would face problems from Netflix, event organizers, sponsors and MP Promotions. Pacquiao, who is 49, added that he insisted on seeing Mayweather sign first because of what happened before their first fight.
That history still hangs over this one. Pacquiao said that between 2010 and 2015 he signed two contracts that were later shredded while the two camps spent years negotiating the first Mayweather fight. He said there were many promises and alibis during that stretch, a process he said lasted about eight years before Pacquiao-Mayweather I was finally made. When they met in 2015 at MGM Grand, Mayweather won by scores of 116-112, 116-112 and 118-110.
Pacquiao’s account of that night has never been free of lingering questions. He suffered a rotator cuff tear in training before the fight, and a postfight photo showed incision marks on his right shoulder after surgery. Now he is pairing that memory with a newer one: a July draw against then-WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios, which he said showed he is still in fighting shape at 47 and that the rematch would be a “definite victory.”
What happens next is simple and costly. Either Mayweather honors what Pacquiao says he signed, or he turns the bout into another fight over promises, alibis and money — the same terrain that kept these men apart for years before they finally met in 2015.
