Floyd Mayweather might want to back out, but Manny Pacquiao wants to hold him accountable. The boxing legend, on Saturday, told the media that his September 19 Netflix fight against ‘Pacman’ is an exhibition and not a real fight, also putting the venue for the fight, The Sphere, in limbo. However, since then, Pacquiao’s team has fired back with lethal force. And now the Filipino boxing legend wants to remind Mayweather what he signed up for. 

“Is that what he’s feeling?” Pacquiao asked Fight Hub TV when informed about Mayweather’s comments. “But he signed a real fight… Yes, the contract that we signed is a real fight… I won’t fight an exhibition… Yeah, it’s a real fight… That’s the contract that he signed… He has to remember that.”

Jas Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions and a producer for the event, on the other hand, was much more forthcoming with details about Mayweather’s claims. He told ESPN on Wednesday that the fight is still on, but Mayweather is in breach of contract because of his comments. Mathur also revealed that since Mayweather’s comments, his team is insisting that the fight be changed to an exhibition. 

He also debunked Mayweather’s claim that The Sphere isn’t finalized as the venue, highlighting a recent site visit by 35-40 representatives from both teams and Netflix, which is set to broadcast the event. He even claimed that Mayweather’s exhibition with Greek Kickboxer Mike Zambidis is also in direct breach of the contract. According to Mathur, Mayweather will receive a written notice of the breach and will be given a cure period to rectify the violation. 

In addition, Mathur alleges that Floyd Mayweather has also taken out an advance on his fight purse.

“Floyd Mayweather signed not one, not two, but three different agreements on three different dates with two different parties that ultimately got intertwined in January,” Mathur said. “And this is all related to his return to professional boxing. First one was on October 24th. The second one was on November 6th. Third one was on December 14th. He received money for all three agreements when he signed them. Not only that, but he’s also taken out an advance on his purse for his fight against Pacquiao.”

In the meantime, Oscar De La Hoya has also joined the conversation. 

Oscar De La Hoya rips into Floyd Mayweather for the Manny Pacquiao rematch drama

Like Manny Pacquiao in 2015, De La Hoya has also lost to Floyd Mayweather in 2007, but never received a rematch. So, after he heard about the brewing drama, Oscar hopped on Instagram to rant about it. 

“Mayweather, come on, dude, fight a real fight,” De La Hoya said. “You’re still trying to protect your O. Yes, you’re 50 and O on paper, but people know you’ve lost. S**t, your own father said you lost against me back when we fought, and what’s crazy is that people don’t know that we had a rematch clause for one year, and what do you do? Your p***y a** retires for one year and one day. 

“Bro, ever since I got beat up by Manny Pacquiao in my last fight, I’ve wanted to fight every single day, but I couldn’t because I wasn’t right physically [and] emotionally. I just wasn’t right. All that depression, all that s**t that I had with my spirit, but now these last five years, I’ve put in the work, man. I did a lot of work, and I feel happy. I feel at peace, and you know what? 

“A man at peace is a dangerous f**king man. I can f**king take on King Kong if I want and beat his a**. S**t, I will even fight Jake Paul.”

Notably, before the 2007 fight, De La Hoya was being trained by Mayweather’s father, Floyd Mayweather Sr., from 2001 to 2006. But before the fight, the pair cut ties. Mayweather Sr. had demanded $2 million to train Oscar for the fight, but Oscar chose to work with Freddie Roach instead. 

Mayweather Sr. joined his brother, Roger Mayweather, in his son’s corner. The fight eventually ended with a split decision win for Mayweather, where judge Tom Kaczmarek was the only one to score the fight in Oscar’s favor. After the fight, both Mayweather Sr. and Roger felt Kaczmarek’s scoring was the correct one. 

Still, CompuBox punch stats appear to tell a different story. De La Hoya threw more punches at 587 to 481. But Mayweather landed more shots with 207 to 122. 

Floyd Mayweather has long been regarded as a complete, near-flawless boxer. But his last-minute pivot toward an exhibition raises questions about whether even the seemingly untouchable can feel a hint of vulnerability. Does this shift suggest caution—or simply strategy? And more importantly, does it signal that Manny Pacquiao still poses a threat significant enough to make Mayweather think twice?