Floyd Mayweather Jr. Files $340 Million Lawsuit Against Showtime Networks Over Earnings
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Showtime Networks has been sued by Floyd Mayweather Jr., who claims he's owed hundreds of millions of dollars in fight earnings that were fraudulently diverted by the company to his former manager.
Mayweather, in a lawsuit filed on Tuesday in California state court, accuses Showtime of participating in a years-long scheme of "financial manipulation and self-dealing" orchestrated by his ex-manager, Al Haymon, intended to steal vast sums of money from him by funneling fight revenues into secret accounts he didn't control. He seeks at least $340 million under claims related to breach of fiduciary duty and fraud.
With approximately $1.2 billion in career earnings across his fights, Mayweather is the highest-paid boxer in history. He secured guaranteed purses of $100 million for his bouts with Conor McGregor and Manny Pacquiao, not including his share of the enormous profits from the record-shattering events. His lavish lifestyle, including posing with stacks of cash, is a testament to his success.
Mayweather left HBO in 2013 to sign an exclusive multi-fight deal with Showtime. His fights with Pacquiao and McGregor were broadcast under this agreement, which was the richest in boxing history at the time.
Instead of paying him directly, Mayweather claims Showtime wired his share of fight proceeds to an account controlled by his tax lawyer. He accuses the network of facilitating the subsequent theft of the money by Haymon.
When his new management team requested detailed breakdowns for certain bouts in 2024, Showtime refused to produce them, according to the complaint. They later invoked a statute of limitations defense, stating that any claims related to fights in 2015 are time-barred. Haymon told Mayweather that the records were "lost due to a flood" in a storage facility, the suit alleges.
Mayweather argues that Showtime should have been aware of the theft because Haymon, who is not named in the complaint, wasn't behaving like a typical manager.
Under a 2005 oral agreement, Haymon agreed to act as Mayweather's manager for a 10% fee. This arrangement expired a year later, but Haymon continued in that role for the next 15 years. He handled contract negotiations, TV deals, sponsorships, and investments for his client.
In the suit, Mayweather highlights banking records that show large transfers to companies controlled by Haymon, falsely labeled as "repayment" or "loan payoff." Tens of millions of dollars were moved to Alan Haymon Development shortly after major fights.
Other records reveal numerous one-off payments, the suit alleges. These include transactions for up to $15 million on dates unrelated to any fight, with memos like "expenses" accompanying many of them.
To conceal the stolen funds, Haymon only showed Floyd certain documents, preventing the boxer from learning the exact sums earned from fights, according to the complaint. On one occasion, the manager altered the date of a contract to misrepresent when it was signed, the suit says.
Another issue is the discrepancies in financial documents, allegedly showing inflated expense reimbursements charged against the Pacquiao fight. These funds were also used for a $20 million reimbursement for the 2015 Andre Berto bout. Mayweather argues that these charges imply the Pacquiao revenue pool was used as a slush fund to pay unrelated costs, like the Berto payout.
Showtime did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
