Floyd Mayweather’s exhibition boxing match against kickboxer Mike Zambidis — scheduled for Saturday in Athens, Greece — has been canceled, according to a letter to New York courts obtained by Uncrowned.
“I also write to notify the Court of an important recent development,” a letter penned by Mayweather’s legal counsel, Melissa Y. Glass, read. “Because Plaintiffs’ Motion remains pending without a ruling, the Mayweather-Zambidis event will no longer proceed in Athens, Greece as planned on Saturday evening. Plaintiffs’ commencement of this action and filing of the Motion, as well as their legal threats domestically and in Greece, have effectively stopped any promotion or distribution plans for the event and halted ticket sales.
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“Due to the fluid situation on the ground in Athens and significant damage to the commercial viability of the event, and given the time difference and imminence of its scheduled start time on June 27, the difficult decision was made to cancel the June 27 exhibition fight. Depending on the Court’s ruling, the event may be rescheduled for a later date.”
In a claim filed in a federal court in New York last week by promoter CSI Entertainment, it was alleged that the Hall of Fame boxer pocketed $4.65 million in advances to fight Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao, but then walked away from the deal. As a result, CSI Entertainment asked the court to grant an injunction stopping Mayweather from facing Zambidis and preventing Mayweather from taking any fight other than against Tyson next with CSI and for him to face Pacquiao — or another opponent of CSI’s approval — immediately after Tyson.
District Court Judge Vernon S. Broderick held a two-hour hearing Wednesday to hear CSI Entertainment’s injunction motion, but he did not make an immediate ruling. Broderick instead asked attorney’s for both sides to provide answers to some of the courts’ questions by 12 p.m. ET Thursday.
But before Broderick could make his ruling, the exhibition was called off. The cancellation of the event comes following Ticketmaster’s decision to stop the sale of tickets after receiving legal notice from CSI. DAZN was set to broadcast the event but also pulled out after CSI’s injunction was filed and said it would await an official ruling from the courts.
This report will be updated.
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