Manny Pacquiao Lawsuit Delivers Counterpunch To Firms He Says Made 'knowingly False Allegations' Against Him

The lawsuit tin beryllium made that those who conceived and arranged nan 2015 boxing lucifer betwixt Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao merit to beryllium compensated.

After all, nan “Fight of nan Century” astatine nan MGM Grand Garden Arena successful Las Vegas — won by Mayweather — group records pinch 4.6 cardinal pay-per-view buys and $72 cardinal successful summons sales.

So it’s nary astonishment that agelong aft some boxers slipped comfortably into (temporary) retirement, ineligible fights endured complete moreover slim slices of that cash-stuffed pie.

For 10 years — and counting — lawyers and judges person attempted to find what claimants are owed and whether Pacquiao successful peculiar suffered reputational harm on nan way.

Meanwhile, status is relegated to nan rear position and a rematch Sept. 19 astatine nan Las Vegas Sphere will beryllium streamed unrecorded connected Netflix. Mayweather is 49 and Pacquiao 47, yet different staggering payday serves arsenic a awesome motivator.

And tribunal battles continue. The latest salvo was a filing by Pacquiao this week successful Los Angeles Superior Court accusing respected rule firms and their edifice server customer of attempting to extort millions of dollars from nan boxer by fabricating a verbal statement and falsely accusing him of texting photos of dismembered bodies successful a “terror campaign.”

Gabriel Rueda was a waiter astatine Craig’s restaurant successful West Hollywood erstwhile he sued Pacquiao successful 2016, claiming he was owed a finder’s interest of $8.6 cardinal for connecting nan boxer’s trainer Freddie Roach pinch then-CBS president Leslie Moonves to put nan 2015 conflict pinch Mayweather.

Rueda demanded $42 cardinal successful damages. Enter erstwhile boxer Richie Palmer — a friend of Roach and hubby of Rachel Welch — who told a judge that Rueda promised him half of his finder’s interest if he could bring together Roach and Moonves.

A judge granted Pacquiao a summary judgement successful 2024, dismissing Rueda’s lawsuit and making Palmer’s declare moot.

Now Pacquiao is delivering a counterpunch. This week he revenge a malicious prosecution lawsuit, seeking compensatory and punitive damages against Rueda and deep-pocketed rule firms Khan Law Office and Withers Bergman, arsenic good as defunct firm Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht.

Pacquiao asserts successful nan filing that he ne'er communicated pinch Rueda astir a Roach-Moonves meeting, fto unsocial agreed to salary him anything.

His attorneys produced a missive from Rueda intended for Mayweather that was not discovered until 2023 done court-ordered forensic betterment of Rueda’s iCloud account.
According to nan lawsuit, Rueda stated successful nan missive that he “asked for thing successful return,” for introducing Roach to Moonves. “No finders fee, nary compensation.” Rueda was fixed a summons to nan 2015 fight, a edifice room successful Las Vegas and $10,000 to screen expenses, according to nan filing.

Pacquiao alleges that nan email was hidden by Rueda and his attorneys contempt find requests and a 2018 tribunal bid compelling production.

Pacquiao’s title besides established that nan texts of assemblage parts and threats to Rueda were really duplicates of messages from a wide distributed supplier cartel scam. Rueda claimed successful 2020 that he received matter messages of images of dismembered bodies from associates of Pacquiao.

But records produced by Pacquiao’s lawyers showed that astatine slightest 1 of nan messages was sent to much than 100 group successful what nan title describes arsenic a “cartel scam.” Rueda dropped nan declare successful 2024 aft Pacquiao’s squad discredited it.

Pacquiao’s lawyers wrote that his suit is “arising from 1 of nan astir egregious abuses of nan civilian justness strategy — nan deliberate prosecution of knowingly mendacious and sensational allegations for nan intent of inflicting reputational harm and coercing payment.

“Defendants knowingly and deliberately misused nan judicial process to prosecute claims that were wholly fabricated from nan outset and straight refuted by grounds that Defendants knew about, possessed, and suppressed.”

Pacquiao’s lawyers said nan boxer “incurred millions of dollars successful ineligible fees and costs to clear his name.”

While nan suit is litigated, Pacquiao apt will beryllium training for his rematch pinch Mayweather, who is progressive successful ineligible action of his own.

Earlier this month, Mayweather sued Showtime and erstwhile executive Stephen Espinoza for $340 million, accusing them of depriving him of a “significant information of his profession earnings.” He alleges that Showtime “through a analyzable web of hidden accounts, unauthorized transactions, and deliberate concealment of financial records,” wrongly paid immoderate of his net to his erstwhile manager, Al Haymon.

Pacquiao and Mayweather must beryllium cutting immoderate superior checks to their lawyers. But their rematch should gain them much than capable to screen ineligible expenses: Mayweather made astatine slightest $250 cardinal and Pacquiao astatine slightest $125 cardinal for their first fight, which generated much than $600 cardinal successful full revenue.