Floyd Mayweather is taking Showtime Sports to court. | Mike
Sloan/Sherdog.com
Floyd
Mayweather has filed a lawsuit against Showtime and former
Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza seeking to recoup
missing earnings from a number of his fights.
According to TMZ Sports, the undefeated former boxing
champion claims ex-manager Al Haymon misappropriated a “significant
portion of his career earnings” while collaborating with Showtime
and Espinoza. Mayweather is seeking “to recover hundreds of
millions of dollars in the misappropriated funds and damages
resulting from a long-running and elaborate scheme of financial
fraud.” In a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court,
Mayweather is seeking $340 million and punitive damages.
In the suit, Mayweather alleges that Showtime and Espinoza gave
money from some of his biggest fights — including bouts against
Manny
Pacquiao and Conor
McGregor — directly to Haymon. According to Mayweather, that
money is “missing and unaccounted for.”
Lost Financial Records
When Mayweather switched managers and asked for Showtime’s
financial records for his fights, the company claimed they weren’t
available, per the suit. Mayweather is suing Showtime and Espinoza
for iding and abetting breach of fiduciary duty, civil conspiracy
to commit fraud, conversion and unjust enrichment. Haymon is not
listed in the suit.
“Floyd is one of boxing’s biggest pay-per-view draws. He generated
hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Showtime,” attorney
Bobby Samini said in statement to TMZ Sports. “Mr. Mayweather now
takes this fight to the courtroom to recover what he rightfully
earned. Retiring undefeated at 50-0, Mr. Mayweather will go the
distance in the courtroom just as he has in the ring.”