A US court has upheld the ruling that Floyd Mayweather Jr.,
the former world boxing champion, must pay Zinni Media Concept Limited, a
Nigerian company, $2.4 million in damages for breach of contract.
According to a statement from Alex Nwankwo, the company’s
media executive, Zinni Media reached an agreement with Mayweather to make various
appearances in Africa, including one in Nigeria, in June 2017.
However, the former boxer unilaterally terminated the deal
without cause and refused to reimburse the company for the advance payment paid
for the service.
Nwankwo claimed that Mayweather’s legal representatives
implied that because the company was not based in the US, the boxer could not
make any refund.
“After several
unsuccessful attempts to recover the appearance fees from the American boxer,
the company instituted a legal action against Mayweather in 2018 where it
alleged breach of contract, unjust enrichment and fraud against the former
champion. We are grateful that two courts have granted a prayer by Zinni Media
Ltd to impose terminating sanctions against Mayweather,” the statement reads.
In October 2023, a lower court in California ruled that
Mayweather should pay Zinni $1,638,542 in damages, $721,881.32 in prejudgment
interest, $16,270 in sanctioned attorney fees, and $285 in costs. The total
compensation amount ordered was $2,376,978.
The boxer, however, appealed the judgment before the
California court of appeals.
In the latest ruling, dated August 27, 2024, Eva McClintock,
clerk of the appellant court, affirmed the lower court’s verdict.
Nwankwo added that despite the court of appeal’s ruling and
the case’s finality, Mayweather had still refused to pay the judgment money,
which continues to grow at 10 percent per annum.
He said the court had instructed USA attorneys to enforce
the judgment by targeting Mayweather’s 2015 Bugatti GSV or his 2015 Ferrari
LaFerrari Aperta, both valued over the damages.
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