Boxing
Pacquiao camp: Mayweather fight is not an exhibition, “still going on”
Published
4 months agoon
The September 19 rematch between boxing legends Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao is “still on” despite Mayweather’s apparent “breach of contract” following his recent comments about the planned Las Vegas fight.
During a meeting at Caesar’s Palace last Saturday, Mayweather told Vegas Sports Today, “we don’t know where the fight is. The sphere is one of the places they talked about. So we don’t know if he’ll be there 100 percent. And it’s not actually a fight. It’s an exhibition.”
Jas Mathur, CEO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions and producer of the event, objected to Mayweather’s comments, telling ESPN on Wednesday that the undefeated fighter’s statements were contrary to their contract.
“Right now, the fight is still going on. There is no conclusion and he has signed a contract to fight professionally,” Mathur said. “Floyd Mayweather is officially in breach of his contract. He has been in breach of his contract since the day he came out and said what he said on Saturday, and he has been in official breach of his contract since yesterday.”
Mathur told ESPN he has been in talks with Mayweather’s team since the boxer’s comments Saturday, with Team Mayweather insisting that the fight be changed from a sanctioned professional fight to an exhibition fight, one of several contract violations.
Mathur suggested that Mayweather also knew about a recent visit to The Sphere, which was attended by 35-40 representatives from Manny Pacquiao Promotions, Mayweather Promotions and Netflix, as well as producers Hidden Empires, EverWonder Studios and Limitless X Holdings.
Mayweather’s proposed June exhibition with Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis also directly violates his contract to fight Pacquiao, according to Mathur, who added that there is a cure period during which Mayweather can cure the violation after receiving written notice of the violation.
Mathur also stated that Mayweather has already taken a down payment on his fight purse.
“Floyd Mayweather signed not one, not two, but three different contracts on three different dates with two different parties that ultimately came together in January,” Mathur said. “And it all has to do with his return to professional boxing. The first one was on October 24. The second one was on November 6. The third one was on December 14. When he signed them, he received money for all three contracts. Moreover, he also took an advance payment towards his purse for the fight with Pacquiao.”
The Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 fight was announced in February as a professional boxing fight, just days after Mayweather announced he was coming out of retirement during an event organized for The Sphere and which will be streamed worldwide on Netflix.
The fight was to be, as Mathur put it, “boxing’s first-ever sports and entertainment event,” a spectacle that would leverage the technology of a $2.3 billion entertainment venue.
“No one in the last three months has mentioned anything related to the venue or that the fight is not a professional fight,” Mathur said. “His team had all the contracts. He signed all the contracts. We have DocuSign evidence, as well as damp signatures with the device ID, IP address and everything that’s in there.”
Ultimately, there will be a stalemate as Mathur said Manny Pacquiao will not budge on turning the fight into an exhibition because of his steadfast desire to avenge his 2015 loss to Mayweather.
“If he’s afraid of Manny and doesn’t want to jeopardize his professional boxing record, not only should he never sign one of these contracts, but he should just come out and say it because Manny is not afraid,” Mathur said.
“We put it together to create something that the fans would love and that would be a huge sporting event. We wanted to do something that would make history, and he wants to come in and try to change the terms at the last minute because he thinks he can. No, he can’t. It’s not happening.”
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Boxing
Pierce OLeary vs. Mark Chamberlain Live Results: Updates and Highlights
Published
2 days agoon
August 1, 2026
LIVE COVERAGE
World Boxing News provides live results and updates from Dublin as Pierce O’Leary faces Mark Chamberlain at super lightweight.
Queensberry Promotions returns to the 3Arena with an action-packed card headed by the unbeaten Irish star O’Leary, who meets former British champion Chamberlain in the main event.
The undercard also features Gary Cully, Reece Bellotti, Sean McComb, Steven Cairns, Ben Fail and several unbeaten Irish prospects.
Pierce O’Leary vs Mark Chamberlain Results
Times are Local – IST
17:46
Gary Cully stopped Lee Reeves in the tenth round to improve to 20-2.
Cully overcame a fifth-round point deduction for repeatedly losing his gumshield before dropping Reeves twice in the final round to force the stoppage.
The victory marked Cully’s 11th knockout win as a professional.
17:01
Sean McComb returned with a comfortable six-round points victory over Miguel Antin.
McComb won every round on the referee’s scorecard, claiming a 60-54 decision to improve his record to 22-2.
16:31
Machlan Arthur improved to 2-0 with his second straight knockout by stopping Ryan Frost in the fourth round.
Arthur dropped Frost twice in the final session before the referee waved the contest off at 1:05 of round four.
Remaining Bouts
• Pierce O’Leary vs Mark Chamberlain – IBO World Super Lightweight Title (12)
• Royston Barney-Smith vs Reece Bellotti – Vacant IBO Inter-Continental Super Featherweight Title (10)
• Gary Cully vs Lee Reeves – Super Lightweight (10)
• Steven Cairns vs Senan Kelly – Super Lightweight (10)
• Ben Fail vs Craig O’Brien – Super Welterweight (10)
• Bobbi Flood vs Tariq Davis – Super Welterweight (6)
• Adam Olaniyan vs Jonathan Claudio Sauco – Heavyweight (4)
• John Joe Carrigan vs Sean Murray – Super Welterweight (4)
• Sami Hamed vs Bela Istvan Orban – Super Welterweight (4)

Preview
Pierce O’Leary tops a major night of boxing in Dublin as the unbeaten Irishman takes on Mark Chamberlain for the IBO World super lightweight title.
O’Leary enters the contest looking to continue his rise through the rankings against the experienced Chamberlain, who aims to return to winning ways after a draw in his third outing since suffering the lone defeat of his professional career.
The chief support sees Royston Barney-Smith meet Reece Bellotti for the vacant IBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title.
Gary Cully also returns in an intriguing domestic clash with fellow unbeaten Irishman Lee Reeves, while Steven Cairns faces Senan Kelly in another all-Irish encounter.
Sean McComb, Ben Fail, Bobbi Flood, Adam Olaniyan, Machlan Arthur, John Joe Carrigan and Sami Hamed also feature on the Queensberry Promotions card.
Updates will be added below as the action unfolds in Dublin, with more live coverage on World Boxing News.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.
Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.
Boxing
Barry McGuigan: Ryan Garcia Faces a Dangerman in Conor Benn at 147 lbs
Published
2 days agoon
August 1, 2026
Hall of Famer Barry McGuigan has named one half of the main event between Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn as the “dangerman” at 147lbs.
The two welterweights will collide at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena on September 12, with Garcia making a first defence of his WBC world title.
He claimed the belt by dethroning Mario Barrios with a unanimous decision victory in February, which followed his surprising points loss to Rolando Romero in May 2025.
Interestingly enough, this defeat came shortly after his year-long doping ban, which he served on account of testing positive for ostarine ahead of his majority decision victory over Devin Haney.
The result of their showdown was then ruled a no-contest, with Garcia subsequently moving up to welterweight after failing to keep below the 140lb limit.
It now seems the 27-year-old is competing at a more natural weight while Benn, who tested positive for clomifene in 2022, has not made 147lbs since his second-round finish over Chris van Heerden that same year.
Speaking with talkSPORTIrish boxing icon McGuigan suggested that this – as well as the 29-year-old’s technical flaws – could prove a major factor against Garcia.
“[Benn’s] got that genetic code from his dad, and he’s got that explosiveness and everything else. But he is predictable – you can see when he’s going to throw.
“You ask yourself: is Garcia just a little bit too sharp for him? A little bit too cute. I think Garcia’s finally found the weight he’s most suitable [for]. I think he’s a dangerman at 147[lbs].
“Maybe Conor Benn has left it a little too late to make 147[lbs] again. I think that could be his Achilles’ heel. I make Garcia a slight favourite but would never write off Conor Benn – he’s got that fighting heart.”
Benn comes off a unanimous decision victory over Regis Prograis in April, which followed his two middleweight encounters with Chris Eubank Jr last year.
Boxing
Devin Haney Updates Fight Strategy After Keyshawn Davis Withdraws from Title Shot
Published
2 days agoon
August 1, 2026
Devin Haney’s immediate future has been thrown into uncertainty after Keyshawn Davis pulled out of their mandated contest on Friday.
The pair had been ordered to collide for Haney’s WBO world title, with Davis having been named as the sanctioning body’s mandatory challenger at 147lbs.
Multiple reports then suggested that the 27-year-old was offered $3m by Top Rank, his promoter, only for ‘The Businessman’ to reject what would have been a career-high payday.
Subsequently, their bout went to a purse bit hearing, where Top Rank trumped Teofimo Lopez’s Takeover Promotions with a sum of $8,550,000.
This therefore gave Bob Arum’s outfit the promotional rights and, as per the usual 75/25 split in favour of the defending champion, Davis would have been entitled to a share of $2,137,500.
Since Thursday’s auction, though, Davis has excluded himself from the fight and left Haney without an obvious opponent for his first welterweight title defence.
Taking to social mediaWBO president Gustavo Olivieri explained that his organisation must now provide their champion with a solution.
“The WBO hereby confirms receipt of written notice from counsel on behalf of Keyshawn Davis advising that he will NOT accept the 25% purse split adjudicated pursuant to the official WBO purse bid proceedings and, accordingly, will NOT participate in the WBO welterweight mandatory championship contest against Devin Haney.
“In light of the foregoing, the WBO Championship Committee and Ratings Committee will convene to proceed in accordance with the WBO world championship rules and regulations. The applicable ruling will be rendered and published in due course.”
Re: WBO Welterweight Participant Keyshawn Davis
The World Boxing Organization (WBO) hereby confirms receipt of written notice from counsel on behalf of Mr. Keyshawn Davis advising that he will NOT accept the 25% purse split adjudicated pursuant to the official WBO purse bid…
— Gustavo Olivieri, Esq. (@OlivieriLaw) July 31, 2026
At this stage, it remains to be seen whether Haney will be immediately ordered to face a new mandatory challenger or, given the situation, have the opportunity to make a voluntary defence.
Either way, the 27-year-old has not fought since dethroning Brian Norman Jr in November and is surely eager to return to action.
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