Los Angeles (United States) (AFP) – Former multi-weight world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather’s planned exhibition against Greek kickboxing star Mike Zambidis in Athens on Saturday is off, according to federal court filings obtained by ESPN. The pay-per-view event was to be held at the Telekon Center at the OAKA Olympic Complex in Athens.
Events company CSI, which is suing Mayweather in connection with planned bouts against Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao, had sought an injunction in the Southern District Court of New York to prevent the Zambidis exhibition. In a letter to the court, ESPN reported, attorney Melissa Glass said the Mayweather-Zambidis event will no longer proceed because uncertainty over its status “effectively stopped any promotion or distribution plans for the event and halted ticket sales.” She said the bout against the 45-year-old Zambidis, an 18-time world champion best known for his career in K-1 MAX, could be rescheduled.
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CSI sued Mayweather last week seeking to recover at least $4.65 million the company says it paid the fighter for exclusive rights to promote the planned bouts against Tyson and Pacquiao. Mayweather, 49, retired from boxing in 2017 with a perfect 50-0 record. He has appeared in exhibition bouts since then, but a planned exhibition late last year against former heavyweight world champion Tyson never materialized, and plans for a rematch with Filipino icon Pacquiao, announced by Netflix for September, is shrouded by uncertainty.
That bout, announced for the Sphere in Las Vegas, would have rematched the fighters in the top moneyspinner in boxing history. But it apparently foundered after Mayweather said the fight would be an exhibition while Pacquiao said he signed for an official bout against the American. The Sphere has since booked a concert by the Eagles for September 19, the planned Pacquiao versus Mayweather date.
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