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GUT PUNCH
Conor McGregor dealt major $8m cash blow as judge overturns Manny Pacquiao payout as ‘contract void due to illegality’
McGregor has a different legal battle in Ireland later this year
CONOR McGregor has been hit with a multi-million dollar punch in the mouth by boxing hero Manny Pacquiao, The Irish Sun can reveal.
A US court ruled the Dublin fighter and manager Audie Attar’s Paradigm Sports Management can no longer claim an enormous sum awarded to them last year in a contract dispute, as their contract was null and void.
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They paid Filipino boxer Pacquiao $3million to join their sports agency in an exclusive deal four years ago, with the promise of a Pacquiao-McGregor exhibition bout.
The plan was to have a fight between them similar to his infamous 2017 showdown with Floyd Mayweather — which netted motormouth McGregor, 36, a staggering €130million in revenue at the time.
But Pacquiao, 45, never fought a single round under the Paradigm name and the company sued him in a Californian court last year.
A jury ruled in favour of McGregor and his manager and awarded almost $8million in damages and legal costs against ‘PacMan’ — who won 12 titles in a glittering career.
A euphoric McGregor tweeted at the time: “And don’t let it happen again Manny. Manny owes 8 in all. 5.1 he owes and then 2.1 in legal costs. Legal fees are heavy but that’s what we do. Heavyweight operations.”
‘The Notorious’ later deleted the second monetary tweet.
But earlier this week, Pacquiao got his revenge when an appeal court judge ruled in his favour.
Judge Walter P. Schwarm ruled that the contract between them was nil and void because Paradigm’s founder and CEO, Audie Attar did not have a boxer’s management licence from the California State Athletic Commission at the time the contract was signed to represent Pacquiao.
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The Judge accepted the sports firm had paid the fighter millions as a signing-on bonus to join them and that he had signed the contract.
But he said: “The court finds for Mr Pacquiao on the cross-complaint declaratory relief cause of action and declares the contract void due to illegality.
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“Mr Attar’s testimony supports that Paradigm Sports Management did not have the required licence.
“Based on the evidence, the court finds that Mr Pacquiao has demonstrated, by a preponderance of evidence, that Paradigm did not have the required licence under California law. The contract is illegal and unenforceable.”
Manny is the first boxer to win major world titles in flyweight, featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight, and is the only boxer to hold world championships across four decades — the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s, and 2020s.
The boxer’s lawyer, Jason Aniel, said: “This decision negates the jury’s findings back in May of 2023.
“We thank the court’s time and effort in this matter. Mr Pacquiao also thanks his fans for their patience while the court fully resolved all the legal issues.”
McGregor has not commented publicly on the court defeat. He is the main shareholder in Paradigm with Audie Attar.
Another legal battle
He’s also due back in court, this time in Ireland, in the autumn when his former best mate and sparring partner Artem Lobov is suing him, claiming that McGregor promised him five per cent ownership in his whiskey business.
Lobov, a whiskey expert and holder of a business degree, said he came up with the idea for the booze project in the first place.
McGregor and his investors recently sold a 51 per cent stake in the Proper Number 12 whiskey brand for $600million.
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The Notorious is believed to have personally received $130million out of it. He still holds shares in the brand.
He had previously offered Russian-born Lobov a million quid to walk away — which the former MMA fighter rejected.