By Norm Frauenheim

Floyd Mayweather cast doubt last Saturday on whether his September 19 sequel with Manny Pacquiao will be documented as a real fight and where it’ll happen, but tickets were available this week for a date already scheduled on the Las Vegas Sphere’s calendar.

Tickets, priced from $1,882 to $29,214, were up for sale on the Sphere’s website Thursday amid controversy raised by Mayweather, whose comments suggested the event was not the done deal it seemed to be when announced February 23 by Netflix and CSI Sports.

During a busy boxing day dominated by Sebastian Fundora’s stoppage of Keith Thurman last weekend, Mayweather told Vegas Sports Today that the venue was uncertain.

“We don’t know if it’s a hundred percent going to be there,’’ Mayweather said during a reported meet-and-greet at Caesars Palace.

Days later, however, the MSG-sponsored Sphere is moving forward as if it is certain.

Mayweather also told Vegas Sports Today that the fight would not count in the official record book, which has him at 50-0 after a boxing victory over then MMA star Conor McGregor in August 2017.

“This is not actually a fight,’’ Mayweather said. “It’s an exhibition.”

In a video posted by Source of Boxing, Pacquiao countered, saying he didn’t sign up for an exhibition.

“…he signed a real contract,’’ says Pacquiao, who lost a 2015 decision to Mayweather in a much-hyped fight remembered mostly for the record-setting pay-per-view revenue. “Yes, the contract that we signed is a real fight. I wouldn’t fight an exhibition.’’

There’s a theory that Mayweather is attempting to re-negotiate, because he wants to protect his official record. He might need money, but he still values the 0 on the loss side of the ledger more than anything. It’s his identity. Maybe, his future. He’ll be 50 next year. One loss might ruin the birthday party.

From the Netflix and Sphere point of view, however, that risk is part of the drama, a compelling reason to watch. After all, the first fight, more than a decade ago, was a dud.

As of Thursday, it’s not clear whether Mayweather thinks he’s found a loophole that will allow him to re-negotiate. The Pacquiao camp is certain he does not.

Mayweather is in breach of contract,

Jas Mathur, Manny Pacquiao Promotions CEO, told ESPN and Boxing Scene.  Now, there are reports that Mathur is demanding Mayweather re-confirm that he intends to fulfill the terms that –Pacquiao says — he agreed to.

Will he? Mayweather, a calculating and clever master of the feint within the ring, also uses it outside of it. Keep them guessing, before and after opening bell.

He’s done it often enough to think he’s trying to do it all over again. It also might help explain the odds. Mayweather opened as a slight betting favorite, minus 175. A couple of days later, money came in on Mayweather, making him more of a favorite, minus 190.

There are no odds on whether the fight, real or not, happens at all.

Not yet anyway.

By Norm Frauenheim

Only boxing is killing boxing. It’s an old line, yet

relevant as ever this week with news of talk about a Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao rematch.

It’s been a decade since the first one, which has been hard to forget for all the wrong reasons. It was a dud, memorable only for all the money that was made. Pacquiao got rich. Mayweather got richer. Everybody else got robbed.

Many in a record pay-per-view audience of 4.6 million for the May 2015 fight grumbled at what they paid for and walked away, never to pay again.

For ten long years, the business has worked through futility and frustration, attempting to bring back old fans while trying to create a few new ones. The jury is out. So are the fans.

Yet, younger faces and new money, Saudi money, are creating newfound possibilities.

The business is also coming off a notable triumph in Terence Crawford’s scorecard upset of Canelo Alvarez in mid-September in front of a crowd of more than 70,000 at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium and a reported audience of more than 42 million on Netflix.

The numbers add up to a reason for cautious optimism, emphasis on the caution. Crawford’s masterful performance reminded an eroding and increasingly exasperated fan base of why boxing was once called The Sweet Science.

It still can be.

But Mayweather-Pacquiao 2 might make a returning crowd wary of getting fooled all over again. Caveat emptor is attached to any prizefighting venture, of course. But Mayweather-Pacquiao almost stands alone for what went wrong and what not to do all over again.

It’s no surprise that Pacquiao and Mayweather would want to, of course. Another chance at even a fraction of the money earned a decade ago is motivation enough to try once more. Pacquiao confirmed there have been negotiations.

“Right now, we have a lot of negotiations about my next fight; there’s a possible rematch with Floyd Mayweather,” Pacquiao said Wednesday during a news conference in Manila. “…”I’d love to have another fight, a rematch with Floyd Mayweather.”

Of course, he would.

However, there was no immediate confirmation from Mayweather, who reportedly has an agreement for an exhibition with Mike Tyson, also next year.

Pacquiao, however, made it sound as if a rematch — perhaps next spring — would be a genuine bout, one for the books.

“A real fight,” he said.

That, of course, would be a risk to Mayweather’s unbeaten, 50-0 record, a cornerstone to his claim on being the best ever. Unbeaten might be an issue, a legacy Mayweather does not want to jeopardize  

Pacquiao is 46 and coming off an entertaining draw with Mario Barrios in a July comeback. Against Barrios, he proved he can still fight. But for how much longer? The former Filipino Senator will be 47 in December.

Meanwhile, Mayweather, who has been on the exhibition tour for years, is 48. He’ll be 49 in late February.

Even a decade ago, both were late in their primes, yet fought with the hesitance of older men. Mayweather won a decision. After the scores were announced and the boos subsided, Pacquiao said he fought with a shoulder injury.

Even then, the fight was said to be a couple of years past its due date. Ten years later, it’s just ancient history. It’s time to move on, both for them and a game fighting to separate itself from their past.

David Benavidez on the move

David Benavidez, a Phoenix-born fighter now living in Miami, has already moved his training camp to the Middle East for his looming light-heavyweight title fight against 175-pound veteran Anthony Yarde in Riyadh Nov. 22.

With the move, he hopes to adjust to new surroundings and time zone. Benavidez will be fighting in Saudi Arabia for the first time. All of his fights have been in the U.S. and Mexico.