BOXING icon Manny Pacquiao said he’s camp remains confident that the decision of a US court in a case filed against him would be resolved.
“I cannot comment at this time because the case is still pending. I will be happy to discuss further once a final judgment has been entered,” Pacquiao said in a statement Thursday. “If you have any questions about the process, please contact my US lawyers.”
Pacquiao was ordered by a US jury on a 9-3 verdict to pay Paradigm Sports Management (PSM) of CEO Audie Attar a total of $5.1 million for a breach of contract of their deal that was forged two years ago.
The 44-year-old former Philippine senator is unperturbed.
PSM founder and CEO Audie Attar, meanwhile, expressed elation over the US jury’s decision saying that they already proved their point that a breach of contract was committed when Pacquiao fought Yordenis Ugas in August 2021 in Las Vegas.
“We are elated to learn of the jury’s ruling in Paradigm’s favor in our suit against Manny Pacquiao,” Attar said in a statement. “The jury plainly found Pacquiao testified falsely in denying Paradigm’s claim against him, and his conduct proves our case that a breach of contract was committed.”
PSM signed Pacquiao into a managerial contract in 2020 and was offered to fight Mikey Garcia in May 2021 after Conor McGregor lost to Dustin Poirier twice during that year in the Ultimate Fighting Championship card.
But Pacquiao signed another contract with the TGB Promotions to fight Errol Spence Jr. on August 2021, but Spence suffered an eye injury and had to be replaced by Ugas—despite Pacquiao still under contract with the PSM.
PSM sued Pacquiao.
“We are appreciative of the court’s time and the jury’s careful attention to the facts of this case. Hopefully, Manny will have learned a lesson from the verdict and will henceforth act with the honesty and integrity that was so lacking in his treatment of Paradigm,” Attar said.
The jury ordered Pacquiao to return $3.3 million which the Paradigm said was advanced to him and pay $1.8 million in damages during the course of the civil lawsuit.
The decision is still being reviewed by my US lawyers as there is no final judgment yet on the case. While I respect the decision of the jury, I feel that our position on this case was not fully appreciated so I am definitely pursuing other legal remedies so that truth and justice will prevail.
Pacquiao’s lawyers also released a statement Thursday.
“A final judgment has not been entered. The court has scheduled a hearing in June and there are still legal issues that need to be addressed before the case is fully resolved,” Pacquiao’s legal counsel Atty. Jason Aniel of Haight Brown & Bonesteel, LLP, said. “We look forward to the final decision of the court.”