On the heels of rumors that he may be facing felony charges, Floyd Mayweather is facing a new legal challenge less than two weeks before his scheduled exhibition bout in Greece. According to TMZ Sports, CSI Entertainment has filed a lawsuit in New York seeking $4.65 million in repayment and an injunction barring Mayweather from participating in his June 27 exhibition against Greek boxing star Mike Zambidis while the case moves through the courts.
At the center of the dispute are a pair of proposed exhibition events involving Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao that never came to fruition. CSI alleges it paid roughly $2 million in advances to Mayweather's management company, Frist Apex Ventures, after securing what it believed were exclusive promotional rights to the fights. The company claims the agreements gave it sole authority to promote the events and alleges Mayweather personally approved the arrangements.
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Reported by BoxingNews24, the financial stakes appear even larger when it comes to Pacquiao. CSI alleges Mayweather was guaranteed $35 million plus 20 percent of pay-per-view revenue for a rematch with his longtime rival. The lawsuit claims that figure could have climbed to $50 million if the event had been structured outside of pay-per-view. Court filings further allege that Mayweather later became involved in separate discussions surrounding another Pacquiao fight that was expected to stream on Netflix, a move CSI argues violated the exclusivity provisions of its agreements.
The lawsuit arrives at a complicated moment for Mayweather, who is already pursuing separate litigation against Frist Apex Ventures and his former manager. In that case, the undefeated boxing icon is seeking $175 million in damages and alleges he was defrauded by individuals involved in his business affairs. Neither Mayweather nor representatives of Frist Apex Ventures had publicly responded to the latest allegations at the time of publication.
