‘He’s scared of losing’: Manny Pacquiao vs Floyd Mayweather rematch in doubt as Pacquiao says Mayweather doesn’t want ‘real fight’

Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. have not shared a ring since 2015, when their long-awaited first fight ended in a unanimous decision for Mayweather and set commercial records for boxing.

More than a decade later, a second meeting had been positioned as a full professional bout, scheduled for September 19 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. In the weeks since that announcement, the terms of that fight have become uncertain, with Pacquiao now openly questioning whether it will go ahead as agreed.Speaking on Inside The Ring on DAZN, Pacquiao said the shift began when Mayweather publicly described the event as an exhibition rather than a sanctioned fight.

That, he said, was not what had been agreed. “That’s not what we signed. We signed for a real fight. He got his advance. Why is he announcing this propaganda exhibition?” he said, describing the moment he realised something had changed.

What was agreed, and what is now in dispute

The rematch was first announced on February 23, shortly after Mayweather indicated he would return to professional boxing. At that stage, the expectation, shared by Pacquiao’s camp, was that this would be a regulated fight, with records and results formally counted.

That understanding has since been challenged. Mayweather’s public comments on March 28 suggested the bout would instead take place as an exhibition, with no confirmed venue details, introducing a gap between what had been announced and what was now being described.

Pacquiao said the change prompted an immediate call to Jas Mathur, chief executive of his promotional company, recalling how he asked, “What happened? That’s not what we signed, we signed a real fight,” after seeing Mayweather’s remarks.

The response, as he described it, offered little clarity beyond the same suspicion he would later repeat publicly, that the shift towards exhibitions was tied to Mayweather’s record and how it is preserved.

Mathur, speaking alongside Pacquiao, said the contractual position from their side remained unchanged. “We’re not interested in an exhibition, Netflix is not interested in an exhibition, no one is interested in an exhibition,” he said, adding that multiple agreements had been signed for a professional contest and that discussions between lawyers were ongoing.

He pointed to a deadline of Tuesday, April 14, as the point by which the situation would need resolving, describing the opportunity as one that could generate “more money than he has made in the last five years” if it proceeds as planned.

Pacquiao’s claim: the record and the risk

For Pacquiao, the dispute centres on what he sees as Mayweather’s reluctance to risk his unbeaten record. Mayweather retired with a 50–0 professional record, a figure that has remained intact through a series of exhibition bouts since his last official fight in 2017.“I think he’s scared of losing,” Pacquiao said, linking that concern directly to the nature of the proposed change. In his telling, the exhibitions that have defined Mayweather’s post-retirement career serve a purpose: “that’s his leverage, to go around and have exhibitions because of his undefeated record,” he said, before asking what remains if that record is altered, “if that record will be ruined, what else will he be able to leverage?”

The point surfaced repeatedly as he spoke. At one stage, he returned to it more directly, saying Mayweather is “scared of his record, if the ‘0’ [goes], he doesn’t want that to go on the record,” framing the disagreement less as a contractual misunderstanding and more as a question of risk.

The context: two careers, one unfinished result

Pacquiao, now 47, enters this proposed rematch with a record of 62–8–3, including 39 knockouts, and a career that spans multiple weight classes and decades. He returned from a four-year retirement in July 2025, fighting to a majority draw against WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios.

Mayweather, 49, has not fought professionally since defeating Conor McGregor in 2017, though he has remained active in exhibition events staged in various locations, including upcoming appearances against Mike Tyson in Congo and kickboxer Mike Zambidis in Greece, neither of which has been fully detailed.

The contrast between their recent activity feeds into how Pacquiao frames the rematch. He has described it as “the most important fight of my career,” tying it not only to the result of their first meeting but to the question that has followed both men since, who stands as the greater fighter. In recalling the 2015 bout, he said Mayweather “won the fight [by] running around,” a nod to the long-standing criticism of the American’s defensive style.Pacquiao kept coming back to how he sees the comparison. He pointed to what he has done, being “the only eight-division champion and only fighter who became a champion in four different decades,” but didn’t push it further than that, saying he would rather “let the fans decide,” even as he questioned Mayweather’s claim to being the sport’s greatest.

A deadline, and what follows it

As things stand, the fight remains in place on paper for September 19, but with its format unresolved.

Mathur said legal teams are in contact and that there is only so much control Pacquiao’s side can exert if Mayweather chooses not to proceed under the agreed terms. “What can we do if he chooses to sit home and not step in the ring?” he said, adding that their role has been to remain “proactive” and “steps ahead” where possible.Pacquiao, for his part, has been more direct about what he expects from the agreement already signed. “For me, he cannot get out of this contract,” he said, warning that Mayweather “will face a lot of consequences if he fails this commitment.”