Manny Pacquiao’s victory in court is again in question following an appeal to the clearance by Paradigm Sports Management.
A California court dismissed Paradigm’s $5.1 m lawsuit against the boxing legend due to a technicality in the contract. Pacquiao was then cleared to continue his career without the Paradigm claim. The invalid agreement showed Pacquiao was correct in signing a deal with Premier Boxing Champions.
Paradigm CEO Audie Attar tried to sign Pacquiao in 2020, promising a lucrative fight with Conor McGregor. However, when the fight failed to materialize, Pacquiao agreed to face Errol Spence Jr. in the summer of 2021. Attar contested this fight and wanted compensation from Pacquiao for leaving him in the lurch. The eight-weight champion eventually fought Yordenis Ugas following an eye injury suffered by Spence during a car crash.
Ugas defeated Pacquiao in a shock outcome, ending his career until a resurrection in 2024. After being sued, Pacquiao offered to settle with Paradigm out of court. Paradigm and Attar reportedly declined and were awarded $5.1 million last year. They initially wanted $10 million.
Pacquiao’s lawyer, Jason Aniel, helped get the case dismissed, delighting Filipino fans. On the victory, Aniel told philboxing.com. “It was a long two years, an uphill battle.
“This decision was the second phase of the trial, while the first phase was the jury trial. Because the judge decided that the contract was void and illegal, the jury verdict would not be included in the final judgment. The jury decided the facts and where there was a breach of contract. Then, the judge decided whether that contract was illegal.”
An appeal deadline was set for July 15, which Paradigm has now triggered.
“Parties have a short period to file an objection, and once that period passes, the judge will sign off on the tentative judgment and submit a final judgment,” Aniel added. “Assuming a final judgment is appealed, Manny can fight freely in the US without any threat or interference from Paradigm. This was the turn from before when Paradigm threatened Manny and anyone he potentially worked with that they would seize any earnings from a fight.”
If Pacquiao fights Mario Barrios for the WBC welterweight title later this year, Paradigm will have a claim to earnings until the appeal is upheld or thrown out.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
