Former boxing champion Manny Pacquiao has been ordered to pay a significant amount of money in damages for breaching a contract with a famous combat sports agency.
This news comes as a big blow to the boxing legend, who was hoping to arrange a lucrative bout with the sports agency’s star client Conor McGregor.
According to reports, Pacquiao signed a contract with Paradigm Sports Management to set up a boxing match with McGregor. Pacquiao also received a large sum of money as an advance. But the much-anticipated bout never materialized, leading Paradigm to sue Pacquiao for breaching the contract.
Recently, a jury ruled in favor of Paradigm Sports Management. Pacquiao must now pay back the advancement, as well as a substantial amount in damages. The 9-3 jury ruling ordered him to pay a total of $5.1 million to the sports management company. The repayment is broken down into $1.8 million in monetary damages and $3.3 million in advance payment.
Pacquiao has been vocal for years about his desire to compete against Conor McGregor. He saw McGregor’s bout with Floyd Mayweather in 2017 as an opportunity to face the Irishman in the ring. The contract with Paradigm was seen as a step towards making that dream a reality. The talks seemed to have begun before 2021, the year McGregor suffered from a leg break.
Pacquiao was unable to set up the bout and ended up competing against Yordenis Ugas. Pacquiao also did not disclose to Paradigm that he was involved with TGB Promotions throughout the discussions. This caused issues with the bout scheduling and resulted in the lawsuit.
Since then, he has only been involved in an exhibition bout against YouTuber DK Yoo in December. With this lawsuit between him and Paradigm, it seems unlikely that Pacquiao will have the chance to compete against McGregor in the future.