Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s exhibition bout on June 27 in Greece is in jeopardy entering fight week.
Mayweather was nine days out from his scheduled exhibition fight against Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis when promoter CSI Sports Events filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on June 18, alleging breach of contract while seeking an injunction to block that fight from taking place.
An initial court hearing for the injunction was scheduled to take place on June 22 before being rescheduled for June 25, per multiple reports, just two days before Mayweather is scheduled to fight Zambidis in Athens.
The fight was originally announced to be airing on DAZN, but has since been taken off the streaming service's schedule.
According to reports, the suit alleges that CSI Sports has paid Mayweather a combined $4.65 million for the exclusive rights to promote two of his bouts, a planned exhibition against Mike Tyson and then a professional rematch against Manny Pacquiao.
CSI claims Mayweather breached his contract when he agreed to a bout against Zambidis, an event in which the aforementioned promoter has no involvement. The lawsuit reportedly states that CSI's contract with Mayweather required his exhibition against Tyson to come next.
Tyson injured his hand which forced a delay from the originally contracted May 30 deadline, but the suit claims Mayweather was not allowed an interim fight unless Tyson was unable to compete by an extended Nov. 30 deadline.
CSI is additionally seeking $6.65 million in restitution from Mayweather and co-defendant Frist Apex Ventures, according to multiple reports. Frist Apex Ventures had previously negotiated on Mayweather's behalf, CSI claims in the suit, and has since been separately sued by Mayweather.
It's the next in a growing list of recent legal issues for the International Boxing Hall of Famer.
In April, Mayweather was charged with theft as well as drawing and passing a check without sufficient funds with the intent to defraud, after allegedly writing a bad check for $200,000 at a Las Vegas jeweler. The IRS also levied a tax lien of over $7.2 million against Mayweather for unpaid taxes in 2018 and 2023.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s exhibition bout on June 27 in Greece is in jeopardy entering fight week.
Mayweather was nine days out from his scheduled exhibition fight against Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis when promoter CSI Sports Events filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York on June 18, alleging breach of contract while seeking an injunction to block that fight from taking place.
An initial court hearing for the injunction was scheduled to take place on June 22 before being rescheduled for June 25, per multiple reports, just two days before Mayweather is scheduled to fight Zambidis in Athens.
The fight was originally announced to be airing on DAZN, but has since been taken off the streaming service's schedule.
According to reports, the suit alleges that CSI Sports has paid Mayweather a combined $4.65 million for the exclusive rights to promote two of his bouts, a planned exhibition against Mike Tyson and then a professional rematch against Manny Pacquiao.
CSI claims Mayweather breached his contract when he agreed to a bout against Zambidis, an event in which the aforementioned promoter has no involvement. The lawsuit reportedly states that CSI's contract with Mayweather required his exhibition against Tyson to come next.
Tyson injured his hand which forced a delay from the originally contracted May 30 deadline, but the suit claims Mayweather was not allowed an interim fight unless Tyson was unable to compete by an extended Nov. 30 deadline.
CSI is additionally seeking $6.65 million in restitution from Mayweather and co-defendant Frist Apex Ventures, according to multiple reports. Frist Apex Ventures had previously negotiated on Mayweather's behalf, CSI claims in the suit, and has since been separately sued by Mayweather.
It's the next in a growing list of recent legal issues for the International Boxing Hall of Famer.
In April, Mayweather was charged with theft as well as drawing and passing a check without sufficient funds with the intent to defraud, after allegedly writing a bad check for $200,000 at a Las Vegas jeweler. The IRS also levied a tax lien of over $7.2 million against Mayweather for unpaid taxes in 2018 and 2023.
After several weeks of captivating events, ONE Championship is finishing the month with two of its biggest spectacles.
The world’s largest martial arts organization will broadcast The Inner Circle 20 and ONE Friday Fights 160 live in Asia primetime to over 195 countries around the globe on Friday, June 26.
First, viewers can watch The Inner Circle 20 exclusively on live.onefc.com beginning at 6:30 p.m. ICT.
Then, viewers can watch ONE Friday Fights 160 live via ONE Championship’s global broadcast partners at 8:30 p.m. ICT. The show can also be viewed on ONE Championship’s YouTube channel, ONE Championship’s Facebook page, and watch.onefc.com.*
To view your local listings and start times by region, check below.
Watch The Inner Circle 20 exclusively on live.onefc.com beginning at 6:30 p.m. ICT.
Watch ONE Friday Fights 160 – called ONE Lumpinee 160 in Thailand – live on Channel 7 HD or online via Channel 7, TERO Entertainment, and ONE Championship’s social networks at 8:30 p.m. ICT.
Juneteenth, June 19, is a federal holiday — Emancipation Day for black Americans.
Zim Satcher, a Rio Rancho boxing trainer, is a Black man who studied The Sweet Science with the late Joe Louis Murphy, a Black boxer named for a Black boxer. Murphy, an Albuquerque native, was a boyhood friend of the late Bob Foster, a Black man and New Mexico’s first professional world champion.
When Satcher called the Journal last week, he said it wasn’t really with a story in mind. He was just extending an invitation to come by and see how his boxing club was growing — and how his son, Zimbalist Satcher Jr., was progressing.
But Satcher did reference Juneteenth, in essence extending an invitation to reflect on the Black community’s contribution to boxing in New Mexico.
For Satcher, that begins and ends with Murphy, who died in 2023 at age 86.
“He was a hero to many,” Satcher said, “and he was an African-American hero here.”
For most of us, though, it began with Foster, the undisputed world light heavyweight champion from May 1968 to June 1974 — having successfully defended the title 13 times.
Foster (51-8-1, 46 knockouts) ranks among the fiercest punchers of all time. A charter member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, he died in 2015 at 76.
Of New Mexico’s five world men’s world champions — Foster, Johnny Tapia, Danny Romero, Austin Trout and Angelo Leo — two, Foster and Trout, are Black.
Murphy was never a world champion. His record, (13-11-3, four KOs), compiled between 1955 and 1966, may seem unimpressive, particularly in comparison to Foster’s. Murphy’s contributions continued through the decades, however, as a trainer and promoter.
Professional boxing’s U.S. fan base is predominantly Hispanic, especially in the Southwest. As a natural consequence, so are most of the boxers.
Not all.
Trout (37-5-1, 18 KOs), a Las Cruces southpaw, defeated Rigoberto Alvarez for the WBA junior middleweight title in February 2011 and successfully defended four times — one of those against Puerto Rican legend Miguel Cotto at Madison Square Garden — before losing the belt to Rigoberto’s brother Canelo in April 2013.
Trout continues to campaign in bare-knuckle fighting. Unbeaten (5-0) in BKFC competition, he’s scheduled to face Ben Bonner on July 3 in Philadelphia for that organization’s lightweight title.
He was a USA Boxing national champion and a 2004 Olympic alternate as an amateur.
Foster, Trout and Murphy, then, stand out among New Mexico’s Black fighters and contributors.
There have been others.
Siju Shabazz, Trout’s former training partner in Las Cruces, won a Golden Gloves national title in 2007. Shabazz was 6-3 with five KOs as a pro, campaigning from 2012-17.
It’s in the amateur ranks that lighter-weight Black New Mexicans made the most impact.
Earl Large (119 pounds) and Brooks Byrd (125), both of Clovis, won Golden Gloves national titles in 1967. Santa Fe’s Ray Theragood (119) did so in 1972.
Large boxed professionally from 1968-79, compiling a 38-17 record with 16 KOs. Byrd was 20-8-2 with 15 KOs as a pro from 1971-76. Theragood did not box as a pro.
Other New Mexico Black boxers from the pro ranks: Bruce Sewell (3-2-1, ‘85-86); Jason Bray, a Bob Foster protégé who fashioned a 6-0 (3 KOs) pro record from 1982-86 before moving on in life; Tony Foster (6-2, four KOs, ‘84-88), Bob’s son; Tony McNary (3-2, two KOs,’85-86); Richard Fowler (13-20-1, five KOs, ‘75-95); Bobby Alexander (1-2, one KO, ‘85-03); Jay Murphy (2-4, no KOs, ‘85-86), Joe Louis Murphy’s nephew; most recently, Jordan Gregory (2-3-3, no KOs, 2017-23).
The contribution of Black trainers like Joe Louis Murphy (Albuquerque), Willie Hall (Roswell), Henry Compton (Alamogordo) and Zim Satcher (Rio Rancho) should not go unappreciated.
Login
