Showtime sues Manny Pacquiao’s promoter over fees in fan lawsuits

Another typical week in boxing … one lawsuit settled, another filed.

Days after it was announced that veteran fight promoter Bob Arum had settled his lawsuit against Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s powerful manager, Al Haymon, Arum’s Top Rank Inc. has been sued by Mayweather’s pay-TV network of choice, Showtime.

The civil filing in New York federal court seeks to recover $682,754.07 in legal fees Showtime says it had to pay to defend lawsuits filed by fans upset that Manny Pacquiao was allowed to fight Mayweather in May 2015 despite suffering a serious shoulder injury in training camp a month earlier that was not disclosed before the bout.

See more of our top stories on Facebook >>

Pacquiao was denied permission by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to have a pain-relieving injection he believed he would receive before the fight, and said he aggravated the injury during a productive flurry of punches on Mayweather in the fourth round, muting any follow-up attack.

Mayweather proceeded to a unanimous-decision victory in a bout that drew a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys and stands as the richest one-day sporting event in history, with more than $600 million generated.

Showtime explained its actions in a statement Wednesday night.

“Showtime Networks today filed suit against Top Rank in the Southern District of New York to enforce Showtime Networks’ right to be reimbursed for legal fees incurred defending the many lawsuits filed relating to the injury sustained by Manny Pacquiao before his May 2, 2015, fight against Floyd Mayweather,” the statement read. “Showtime was dismissed from those litigations, which continue against Top Rank.

“Showtime made every effort to resolve this matter short of the courthouse, but Top Rank’s persistent refusal to honor its contractual obligations forced Showtime to take this regrettable, but necessary, step.”

In the lawsuit, Showtime attorneys pointed to a statement by one of Pacquiao’s sparring partners, Dashon Johnson, taken from court records in one of the fan lawsuits against Top Rank, in which Johnson related that once Pacquiao was hurt in training, all sparring partners were sent home.

“We were asked not to mention anything to anyone, but yes, Manny got hurt during camp with his right shoulder and it was messed up pretty bad,” Johnson said, according to the lawsuit. “A lot of work he could have put in for this fight was brought to a halt due to the fact he could not spar really anymore and didn’t want to mess it up more than he already had.”

Pacquiao underwent surgery after the bout to correct the rotator cuff tear and didn’t fight again until April 9, when he defeated Timothy Bradley by unanimous decision.

In a May 1, 2015, pre-fight medical questionnaire, Pacquiao attested under penalty of perjury that he did not have a shoulder injury that required evaluation, Showtime noted.

The contract between the promoters stipulated that Pacquiao and Mayweather should be “ready, willing and able to participate in the event to the best of their ability, and shall honestly compete and give an honest exhibition of skills and promoters must promptly inform networks [Showtime and HBO] if it believes that such is not the case.”

A judge in February dismissed Showtime as a defendant in the fan lawsuits, ruling the network “did not have access to … Pacquiao … or [his] training camp,” as HBO is Pacquiao’s broadcast partner.

The Showtime lawsuit also claims breach of contract, which could result in additional damages, contending that “the [fan] lawsuits’ allegations regarding Pacquiao’s pre-fight injury and Top Rank’s conduct, if true, would constitute a breach by Top Rank of the [fight] agreement.”

MORE SPORTS NEWS

Francisco Vargas knows what the audience wants

In lieu of belt, John Molina Jr. strives to entertain again

Baylor will fire football coach, reassign president over sexual assault scandal