The planned exhibition fight between Floyd Mayweather and Mike Zambidis in Athens, Greece has been called off amid an ongoing legal dispute.
The bout, scheduled for Saturday in Athens, was scrapped after CSI Sports Events sued Mayweather in the Southern District of New York, claiming it paid him $4.65 million to exclusively promote fights with Manny Pacquiao and Mike Tyson, and then moved to block the Mayweather-Zambidis event with an emergency injunction.
Attorney Melissa Glass informed the court, "Because Plaintiffs' Motion remains pending without a ruling, the Mayweather-Zambidis event will no longer proceed in Athens, Greece as planned on Saturday evening," adding that, "Plaintiffs' commencement of this action and filing of the Motion, as well as their legal threats domestically and in Greece, have effectively stopped any promotion or distribution plans for the event and halted ticket sales."
In a separate filing, Front Row CEO Keane Anis said his company "has spent or irrevocably committed approximately $7 million in connection with the Event, including for the Las Vegas press conference, production, marketing, advertising, travel, hotels, security, staffing, equipment, venue-related matters, insurance, licensing and governmental fees, and other event expenses," and that the situation "caused substantial practical, contractual, commercial, and reputational harm to Front Row and numerous third parties."
U.S. District Court Judge Vernon S. Broderick held a two-hour phone hearing on June 24 and said he would rule on a motion for a temporary restraining order, but the fight was called off while the motion "remains pending without a ruling."
