Pacquiao disputes ‘exhibition’ tag for Mayweather bout, calls it a ‘real fight’

Eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao disputed the claim that his upcoming bout with Floyd Mayweather in September will be an exhibition fight, saying that he signed up for a sanctioned professional boxing match.

Last weekend, Mayweather called the fight an exhibition and said they just wanted to “go out there and entertain the people and put on a good show.” On Thursday, Pacquiao released a statement clarifying that to his understanding, it was indeed a “real fight”.

“I wish to clear up any misinformation regarding my upcoming bout against Floyd Mayweather,” he said in a statement.

“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.”

The fight between Pacquiao, 47, and Mayweather, 49, which will be held at the Las Vegas Sphere and will stream on Netflix, was announced in February. It came days after Mayweather announced that he was coming out of retirement.

“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. My team and I remain fully committed to the conditions of that contract and we are preparing for a professional-grade battle,” Pacquiao added.

“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. Nothing has changed on our end and we expect the original terms of the agreement to be honored.”

The fight is rematch of their bout in 2015, which Mayweather won by unanimous decision.

Pacquiao briefly came out of retirement last July to challenge Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight championship. The fight ended in a majority draw, with judges turning in scores of 115-113, 114-114, and 114-114.

—JMB, GMA News