Future Hall of Famer and multiple division champion Manny Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) was in the news again, but his wallet will be significantly lighter this time. The Filipino legend has been battling Paradigm Sports in the courtroom for quite some time, as there was a lawsuit against Pacquiao for breach of contract.
Pacquiao entered a deal with Paradigm Sports in 2021, and they gave him an advance of 3.3 million dollars when he signed the deal. The situation went left when he announced a fight with Errol Spence Jr., contrary to what Paradigm Sports was working on at the time. During 2021 and before the Spence Jr. announcement, there were some discussions of Pacquiao fighting Conor McGregor in a matchup that would have been a certified blockbuster, but that fell through. The verdict also awarded Paradigm Sports ten percent interest on the awarded amount, which starts from 2021 to now. Pacquiao has to pay 8 million dollars, which is no small amount.
Boxing Scene received a statement from Paradigm Sports that said, “We are elated to learn of the jury's ruling in Paradigm's favor in our suit against Manny Pacquiao,” Audie Attar, founder and CEO of Paradigm, noted in a statement provided to BoxingScene.com. “The jury plainly found that Pacquiao testified falsely in denying Paradigm’s claims against him, and his excuses for his conduct proves our case that a breach of contract was committed.”
The irony in all of this is that yesterday was the anniversary of Pacquiao facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. (50-0, 27 KOs) in a fight that shattered PPV records and brought in a gross estimate of over a billion dollars to the Las Vegas strip in Nevada. A day after Pacquiao’s most significant payday, he is forced to pay up in a civil suit that could have been avoided if he had conducted his business correctly. It’s not the first time Pacquiao has found himself in a situation he could have avoided. Does anyone remember the silver briefcase incident inside a limousine? Golden Boy Promotions' own Oscar De La Hoya gave Pacquiao a briefcase full of money in conjunction with a deal to be promoted by Golden Boy Promotions. The only problem was that Pacquiao was still contractually obligated to Bob Arum and Top Rank. That ended up getting messy, and after Pacquiao parted ways, Top Rank was still cashing in some checks from the former senator as part of an agreement.
Now we have Pacquiao, who will be 8 million dollars short and only weeks removed from a rumored fight against Conor Benn (21-0, 14 KOs), who was suspended due to testing positive for PEDs which he states came from eggs and some other stuff. Pacquiao is back in a position where he may have to indeed fight again to make up for the millions he just lost in court. Do we now see Pacquiao face Benn in the UAE? Is this the moment where maybe Floyd Mayweather Jr. sells a fight between them via exhibition to the Middle East? This will be an interesting couple of weeks as we wait to see what Pacquiao will do next.
