Manny Pacquiao has left Conor McGregor humbled and knocked out, judicially speaking. The Filipino boxer, initially condemned to pay almost 8 million dollars to the Irishman, has seen how his appeal has come to fruition and a judge has exempted him from facing this compensation.
The facts date back to 2020 when Manny Pacquiao signed a contract with the promoter Paradigm Sport, which also managed McGregor, to set up a fight between the two like the one ‘The Notorious’ fought in 2017 with Floyd Mayweather.
That bout never saw the light of day. First because McGregor lost to Dustin Poirier in the second of their duels and excused himself by saying that he had focused too much on boxing ahead of his fight with Pacquiao.
On the other hand, Manny closed with the promoter Premier Boxing Champions a fight against Errol Spence and was sued by Paradigm. They were claiming the 3.3 million dollars they had paid him for his contract.
The California Superior Court, after a jury verdict, ruled that Pacquiao “acted in bad faith” and ordered him to pay the $3.3 million, plus $1.8 million in damages, plus all costs of the trial. In total, $8 million.
McGregor boasted, on his social media, of this legal victory: “Don’t let this happen again Pacquiao. You owe me 5.1 million.”
But, this fight was to have a second round. The Filipino fighter, with nine world titles in eight different categories, appealed the ruling. And now, Judge Walter P. Schwarm, like a boxing referee, has raised Pacquiao‘s arm to the sky.
His ruling states that the contract between the Filipino and Paradigm was null and void. It is void because the founder and chief executive officer of this promoter, Audie Attar, did not have a boxer representation license, issued by the California State Sports Commission, at the time he signed the agreement to represent Pacquiao.
“Based on the evidence, the court finds that Pacquiao has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that Paradigm did not have the required license under California law. The contract is illegal and unenforceable,” the ruling states.