Floyd Mayweather Forced To Cancel Mike Zambidis Over Looming Litigation

Floyd Mayweather’s highly anticipated match against Mike Zambidis was reportedly canceled days before fight time after a legal issue forced organizers to pull the plug.

CSI Entertainment filed a lawsuit against Mayweather in New York on June 18 claiming he pocketed $4.65 million in advance for the exclusive rights to exhibition fights with Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao, TMZ previously reported. They alleged that Mayweather bypassed the agreement to announce a bout against Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis instead with another promoter. Mayweather’s lawyer reportedly told the court they couldn’t proceed with the Zambidis match in Athens due to litigation in the U.S., TMZ reported Thursday.

The alleged organizers of the previous events requested damages or the return of their money and asked the judge for an injunction that would prevent the Zambidis fight from proceeding, according to court documents obtained by the outlet

Mayweather’s attorney, Melissa Glass, said, “Because Plaintiffs’ Motion remains pending without a ruling, the Mayweather-Zambidis event will no longer proceed in Athens, Greece as planned on Saturday evening.”

Glass alleged that the threats of legal action “have effectively stopped any promotion or distribution plans for the event and halted ticket sales,” according to TMZ.

Mayweather didn’t address the legal matter directly, but did share an Instagram post a week before the cancelation of the event, noting that each news headline keeps his name “in circulation and everything in motion.” (RELATED: UFC Fighter Dustin Poirier Admits To Needing Help Amid Struggle With Alcoholism)

Organizers for the Athens event asserted that the match-up would be rescheduled in the future, noting that, “Some battles are worth waiting a little longer to get their story right.”

A new date has not been announced as of publication. The expected duration of the legal matter is not known.