The pair shocked the sporting world with the announcement that they would fight for a second time on Saturday, September 19 at Sphere in Las Vegas.

The bout would be 11 years since they first faced each other in a contest which broke all business records for a boxing match and saw Mayweather famously win a unanimous decision.

However, Mayweather cast doubt on the legitimacy of the fight when he recently claimed it would only be an exhibition and that the venue isn’t confirmed yet.

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Speaking on Inside The Ring, Pacquiao admits that this came as a huge surprise to him and he believes there is only one reason for the U-turn from Mayweather.

“I called Jas (Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions) right away [and asked] what happened, that’s not what we signed,” said Pacquiao. “We signed for a real fight.

“I think he’s scared of losing because that’s his leverage in this sport – to go around and have exhibitions because of his undefeated record.

“But if that record is ruined, then what else can he leverage to go around and have an exhibition match?

“It doesn’t matter if you’re an undefeated fighter. What I can see is that he’s a self-proclaimed GOAT, because in which part can he claim that he is the only [one]?

“He cannot claim he is the only undefeated fighter who retired [because] there are lots.

“But I can claim I am the only eight division [world champion] and the only fighter who became a champion in four different decades – 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s.

“But I am not raising my chair, I let the fans decide.”

Ethan Miller/Getty Images

Pacquiao believes that Mayweather, who is 50-0 in the professional ranks, values his undefeated record too much and doesn’t want to risk that against his former foe.

“He’s scared of his record, if the ‘0’ [goes], he doesn’t want that to go on the record.

“I’m a fighter and I respect everyone, I respect everyone’s decision, but what he signed is [for] a real fight, so he should fulfil his commitment.

“This is the most important fight of my career, because a lot of people [say] who is the greatest, but Floyd Mayweather is running around and he won’t fight.”

“For me, he cannot get out of this contract because there are a lot of consequences he’s going to face if he doesn’t fulfil this commitment."

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