Sen. Manny Pacquiao is being sued by Paradigm Sports Management under manager Audie Attar for breach of contract.
The Southern California-based outfit is claiming that Pacquiao took an advance payment of $3.3 million from Paradigm to fight ex-world champion Mikey Garcia, but reneged on the deal by choosing to take on unified world champion Errol Spence Jr. at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on August 21 instead.
Paradigm also wants the Pacquiao-Spence fight halted, too.
Paradigm Sports' New York-based lawyer Judd Burstein said respondent Pacquiao must also pay damages to Attar, who represents MMA superstar Conor McGregor, after the fight with Garcia didn't push through.
Pacquiao's camp, however, through a legal statement from his US lawyer Dale Kinsella said the case filed by PSM has no serious purpose or value but to stop the senator's coming fight.
“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 through a statement.
Pacquiao’s lawyer also cited Paradigm has no intention to do its obligation during the pandemic.
“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," the lawyer said. “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.”
Pacquiao initially planned a fight with Ultimate Fighting Championship superstar McGregor in 2020, but it didn't happen after the latter lost to Dustin Poirier last January 24 via a second-round technical knockout in Abu Dhabi.
This thrust Garcia as a replacement opponent for Pacquiao (62-7-2 record with 39 knockouts).