The long-awaited exhibition fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Mike Zambidis, scheduled for this Saturday in Athens, Greece, was canceled due to a legal dispute that remains unresolved in the United States courts.

The news was announced this Thursday through federal court documents to which the ESPN network had access, putting an end, at least for the moment, to one of the most talked about boxing events in recent weeks.

Why was the Floyd Mayweather fight cancelled?

The holding of the fight was called into question after CSI, an events company linked to Floyd Mayweather's other commitments, filed a lawsuit for alleged breach of contract before the District Court of the Southern District of New York.

The company also requested an emergency injunction to prevent the exhibition from taking place while the litigation continues.

“Given that plaintiffs' motion is still pending, the Mayweather-Zambidis event will no longer take place in Athens, Greece as scheduled for Saturday night,” attorney Melissa Glass wrote in a letter to the court. “The initiation of this legal action and the filing of the motion by the plaintiffs, as well as their legal threats both nationally and in Greece, have effectively paralyzed any promotion or distribution plans for the event and have stopped ticket sales.”

Ticket sales and transmission were paralyzed

The legal uncertainty had immediate consequences for the event. Previous court documents revealed that Ticketmaster suspended ticket sales for the six-round exhibition fight.

In addition, the DAZN platform, which appeared as a possible broadcaster of the fight, decided to wait for a judicial resolution before committing to broadcasting the event. According to Melissa Glass herself, until Wednesday there was no confirmed network to broadcast the fight.

Glass wrote that “the changing situation on the ground in Athens and the significant damage to the commercial viability of the event” led to its cancellation.

The fight between Mayweather and Zambidis could be rescheduled

Although the fight was called off, the case is not yet completely closed. The defense of the parties involved indicated that the confrontation could be rescheduled depending on the decision adopted by Judge Vernon S. Broderick on the request for precautionary measures.

Promoter Keane Anis, who represents Front Row, said organizers were prepared to go ahead with the show if legal issues were resolved early enough.

Anis stated in a supporting document that they were prepared to go ahead with the fight if the legal issues had been resolved “sufficiently in advance of the event,” but that it ultimately became “unfeasible, both commercially and operationally, to continue with it.”

Millions of dollars at stake after cancellation

The suspension of combat also caused significant economic losses for the companies involved.

According to court documents, Front Row would have invested or committed nearly $7 million to organize the event, including a payment of $3 million to Floyd Mayweather, in addition to covering the transportation costs of its team.

Anis maintained that the cancellation of the fight “has caused substantial damage – in practical, contractual, commercial and reputational terms – to Front Row and numerous third parties,” and added that it is not possible to quantify the magnitude of said damage.

The documents also indicate that various commercial agreements would have allowed Mayweather to obtain at least $10 million for the exhibition against Mike Zambidis.

For his part, Walter Jordan, representative of the former world champion, assured the court that the boxer spent approximately $250,000 of his own money for the training camp and that this expense cannot be recovered in the event of definitive cancellation.

Mayweather's defense requests a millionaire bail

As the legal battle continues, Floyd Mayweather's attorneys have requested that CSI post a $15 million bond in case the court decides to grant the requested injunction.

The resolution of the case will be key to determining if the fight against Mike Zambidis can be held at a future date or if the fight will be permanently canceled.

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