Manny Pacquiao faces lawsuit which means the Spence fight is at risk

Paradigm Sports’ Audie Attar, who signed boxing legend Manny Pacquiao to a management agreement in February 2020, filed a breach of contract lawsuit against him on Friday in California superior court in Orange County.

Attar, who also manages UFC superstar Conor McGregor, is seeking repayment of a $3.3 million advance given to Pacquiao and an injunction that would prevent Pacquiao from facing unified welterweight world titlist Errol Spence Jr. in a much-anticipated showdown that is scheduled to headline a Fox Sports pay-per-view event on Aug. 21 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Paradigm asserts in the 21-page lawsuit, a copy of which was obtained by the general media, that Pacquiao’s various “hangers-on repeatedly undermined Paradigm’s negotiating position by publicly claiming to represent Pacquiao’s interests. In response, Paradigm and Pacquiao entered into a series of agreements ostensibly to allow Paradigm to effectively represent him by confirming its authority to do so, and renouncing the interlopers. But Pacquiao never honored his contractual obligations to explicitly confirm the rights he repeatedly granted to Paradigm in writing.

“Pacquiao did this despite accepting and refusing to return an advance of $3.3 million. In a final betrayal, and in complete violation of Paradigm’s exclusive rights, Pacquiao himself announced a fight with Errol Spence Jr. … In addition to the millions of dollars in straightforward economic loss that Paradigm stands to suffer, the damage to its reputation resulting from Pacquiao’s breaches is incalculable. Just when Paradigm was at the cusp of establishing itself as a major player in professional boxing, Pacquiao has left its reputation as a boxing representative in tatters. If Pacquiao’s breaches go unanswered, the damage to Paradigm’s reputation will be irrevocable. Indeed, fighters have already walked away from Paradigm.”

Pacquiao issued a statement saying Paradigm has no case.

“Paradigm Sports’ lawsuit against me has no merit,” Pacquiao said. “I have an absolute right under the agreement with Paradigm to engage in the upcoming bout with Errol Spence. If this frivolous lawsuit continues, I will be proven correct in court.”

According to the lawsuit, written by attorney Judd Burstein — who has vast experience in boxing litigation and once served as Pacquiao’s attorney to extricate him from a promotional contract with Murad Muhammad — Pacquiao had agreed to pay Paradigm 10 percent of income received from his fights and 20 percent of income derived from marketing, commercial and media contracts.

Paradigm said in the suit that within days of the deal being signed it began discussions with then DAZN-executive chairman John Skipper and Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn on a “remarkable 4-fight deal for Pacquiao worth at least $100 million, including a $20 million signing bonus. Two of the four fights would be held in Saudi Arabia, the first of which would be against Mikey Garcia in June or July 2020.

“However, before Paradigm could reduce any of the terms of the deal to writing, Pacquiao’s associates, Sean Gibbons, Winchell Campos and attorney Tom Falgui, interfered with Paradigm’s rights by publicly claiming to be Pacquiao’s authorized representatives.”

Paradigm claims in the suit Pacquiao’s associates attempted to negotiate a separate fight contract with Hearn through the Saudi Arabian group but did so at Pacquiao’s direction in violation of the Paradigm contract.

Paradigm said that undermined its efforts and resulted in the Saudi group Skill Challenge and Hearn to only offer Pacquiao a one-fight deal worth $25 million before Attar “was able to re-engage discussions for a two-fight deal worth $50 million at $25 million per fight, and with a potential $10 million signing bonus.”

The suit went on to detail Paradigm’s continued efforts to land Pacquiao the best deal possible, including details about potential fights that were discussed between Pacquiao and McGregor and Pacquiao and Ryan Garcia, as well as various alleged roadblocks presented by Pacquiao and his associates.

“Remarkably, despite this interference, on or around February 7, 2021, Paradigm and Attar were able to negotiate the terms of a Pacquiao fight against Mikey Garcia,” the lawsuit said. “Under the deal secured by Paradigm, the fight was scheduled for May 15, 2021, in Dubai, and Pacquiao would receive a total fight purse of $25 million, with a $5 million advance. Thereafter, on February 9, 2021, Pacquiao tagged Paradigm and Attar in a Twitter post which stated: ‘Training camp has begun. I’m ready to get back in the ring and to further add to my legacy in the sport of boxing. Big news coming soon.’”

But the suit then detailed the deal falling apart in part over Pacquiao supposedly insisting that he keep the $5 million advance “no matter what happened,” which concerned the investors.

Then, on May 21 — hours before Paradigm believed things had been worked out and that Pacquiao would sign the agreement to face Garcia — “Pacquiao unabashedly tweeted an announcement that he would be fighting Errol Spence, Jr.,” the lawsuit said. “Pacquiao knew full well that Paradigm had exclusive rights to schedule his next two immediate fights. Nevertheless, in bad faith and material breach of the parties’ contracts, Pacquiao, upon information and belief, had surreptitiously entered into a contract to fight Spence. Of course, Pacquiao also breached his contractual duty to notify Paradigm of any fight opportunity offered to him.

“Paradigm devoted an immense amount of time and resources to negotiating fight contracts, sponsorships, marketing opportunities and more, all for Pacquiao’s benefit. In return, Pacquiao’s actions have irreparably harmed and continue to irreparably harm Paradigm’s reputation in the boxing field generally, as well as with specific sponsors, investors, government officials, fans, media sources, and promoters. Because Pacquiao vested Paradigm with the exclusive right to negotiate his fights and then repeatedly pulled the rug out from underneath it, Paradigm will have no credibility in seeking to negotiate on behalf of boxers in the future. If the Pacquiao-Spence fight proceeds as planned, the injury to Paradigm will only increase.

“Additionally, as a direct result of Pacquiao’s breaches, Mikey Garcia, the only boxer on Paradigm’s roster other than Pacquiao, abruptly terminated his management agreement with Paradigm and ended their business relationship. Similarly, Paradigm’s highly promising negotiations to manage or partner with other boxers have slowed down noticeably following Pacquiao’s very public violation of Paradigm’s exclusive rights. Upon information and belief, if Pacquiao’s fight against Spence goes forward as scheduled, it will destroy this business opportunity, as well as others.”

Pacquiao attorney Dale Kinsella issued a statement, rejecting Paradigm’s accusations.

“The complaint filed by Paradigm Sports in California state court on Friday is a frivolous effort to interfere with Manny Pacquiao’s upcoming mega fight, and it can and will fail for numerous reasons,” Kinsella said. “Moreover, had Manny Pacquiao known that Paradigm Sports appears to have had no intention of fulfilling its contractual obligations, he never would have entered into any relationship with them. Should this matter actually proceed beyond Friday’s filing in a court of law, Mr. Pacquiao will vigorously defend this action, assert his own claims against Paradigm Sports, and seek to recover his attorney’s fees as well.”