Manny Pacquiao

Floyd Mayweather is facing a new legal challenge that could disrupt one of his next scheduled fights. CSI Sports Events filed a federal lawsuit alleging that Mayweather breached a contract tied to his planned bouts with Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao. The company is also seeking to block Mayweather’s June 27 fight against Mike Zambidis in Greece, arguing that the matchup violates CSI’s exclusive rights. According to the suit filed in the Southern District of New York, CSI is asking for $6.65 million in restitution from Mayweather and Frist Apex Ventures, which it says acted as his representative. What CSI Says It Agreed To The lawsuit says CSI and Frist Apex reached an agreement on Aug. 10, 2025, for a Tyson-Mayweather exhibition fight planned for spring 2026. CSI alleges it agreed to pay Mayweather $14 million for that bout, including a $2 million advance. The complaint also says the sides later signed a separate exclusive agreement in November 2025 for the fight after Tyson. Under that deal, Mayweather would receive $35 million if Pacquiao was the opponent and 20% of any pay-per-view revenue. If the Pacquiao fight did not air on pay-per-view, the contract called for a $50 million buyout, the suit says. If Pacquiao was unavailable, Mayweather would fight another opponent for $20 million, plus other bonuses. The Zambidis Fight And The Contract Fight CSI says the dispute escalated when Mayweather agreed to fight Zambidis. The company argues that the Greece bout would break its exclusive deal and should be stopped before it happens. Judd Burstein, an attorney for CSI, told ESPN that the company plans to seek an emergency injunction in federal court to try to halt the fight. CSI also says Frist Apex never repaid an advance tied to the later negotiations with EverWonder. The suit claims Mayweather refused to tweet an announcement of his return to boxing in November 2025 because, as the complaint puts it, he was “in the process of selling those very same rights to a third party.” How The Pacquiao Deal Became Part Of The Dispute CSI says Mayweather later entered into a December 2025 agreement with EverWonder for a Pacquiao fight on Netflix worth $24.75 million, including a $2.75 million advance and a possible $3.75 million bonus. CSI and EverWonder then began working toward a solution, Burstein said. “We were prepared to go forward,” Burstein told ESPN. “Tyson would go first, and CSI would allow, Pacquiao was going to go forward in the fall in the Sphere televised by Netflix with CSI getting full billing rights.” The lawsuit says Frist Apex needed to repay an advance as part of the arrangement, and that Mayweather agreed to give CSI exclusive rights to the fight after Pacquiao. CSI says that repayment never happened. As negotiations continued, CSI says it learned about the Zambidis fight and concluded that it would violate the exclusive rights it believed it held. The complaint also says Mayweather changed business managers from Jona Rechnitz to Walter Jordon, and that Jordon told CSI the Tyson fight would happen before Zambidis. Mayweather then underwent medical testing for the Tyson fight and asked for $150,000 in cash, according to the suit. Burstein said CSI paid that amount and that Mayweather signed the receipt. The next day, the suit alleges, Mayweather announced the Zambidis fight despite CSI never agreeing to it. When Tyson later announced a hand injury in May and the May 30 fight was postponed, the contract allowed a six-month window to reschedule before an interim fight could be permitted. CSI says that made the Zambidis matchup Mayweather’s return fight, which it says would also violate its agreements. The company says Mayweather attempted to terminate his CSI contract on June 9 after the alleged breach. More Legal Pressure Around Mayweather The CSI case adds to a growing list of legal problems around Mayweather. He is facing two felony charges in Las Vegas over an alleged bad check for a $200,000 watch, along with civil suits in four states over allegations that include nonpayment for goods and services. He also faces a $7.2 million IRS lien for unpaid taxes. At the same time, Mayweather is suing Showtime for $340 million and is pursuing claims against Rechnitz and Frist Apex for $175 million, alleging fraud and aiding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty. Read more at: www.espn.com

Mayweather Hit With Lawsuit as Tyson and Pacquiao Fights Become Legal Flashpoint