Nearly eight years after retiring from professional boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. is stepping into the legal ring, filing a lawsuit against Paramount-owned Showtime over what he claims are “hundreds of millions of dollars” in misappropriated funds stemming from a long-running and elaborate scheme of financial fraud.
The undefeated boxer, who is estimated to have earned close to $1 billion during his 21-year professional career, is seeking more than $340 million in damages, according to a fraud and unjust enrichment lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. Mayweather is also suing Stephen Espinoza, the former head of the now-defunct Showtime Sports, alleging the network still owes him approximately $20 million from his 2015 welterweight championship bout against Andre Berto.
Mayweather and his attorney allege that large sums owed to the boxer, nicknamed “Money,” were intentionally deposited by Espinoza and Showtime into accounts controlled by his former manager, Al Haymon. Mayweather claims he was unaware of these accounts and received little, if any, of the funds.
Interestingly, while the filing repeatedly points to Mayweather’s former manager and longtime advisor, now ex-advisor, Al Haymon as the alleged mastermind behind the scheme, the person described in Tuesday’s 25-page complaint as a “father figure” to Mayweather is not actually named as a defendant.
The filing, prepared by Costa Mesa attorney Samini Block, also references cameo mentions of HBO and Las Vegas’ MGM Grand, while accusing Haymon of “engaging in a pattern of financial manipulation and self-dealing behind Mayweather’s back over approximately two decades of managing him.”
In a sport notorious for its shady underbelly, boxing is hardly immune to greed and hidden agendas. As too many prizefighters—including the now 48-year-old Mayweather, who still takes occasional exhibition bouts—have learned, failing to pay close attention to your money and your purse can carry consequences far beyond the fine print, whether you’re in your prime or past it.
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Tuesday’s complaint also alleges that when “Mayweather’s new team” approached Showtime in 2024 seeking documents and accounting related to his 2015 pay-per-view fight against Manny Pacquiao or the 2017 blockbuster bout with MMA star Conor McGregor, they were effectively blocked. Mayweather’s representatives, led by Richard Schaefer, were reportedly told by Haymon and Showtime that the materials were either “lost in a flood” or “stored off-site and not readily accessible.”
According to the complaint, these issues contributed to tarnishing the famously lavish, 50-0 Mayweather with “(false) rumors that he was ‘broke’” and caused him “reputational harm and mental anguish.”
Today’s complaint suggests that Stephen Espinoza is working with Al Haymon. The alleged ongoing connection between the former Ziffren Brittenham attorney and the rarely seen manager he reportedly assisted in siphoning funds from Mayweather adds an intriguing twist. However, Deadline cannot verify the accuracy of this claim or whether the duo maintains a professional relationship at Premier Boxing Champions or elsewhere.
In response to Deadline’s request for comment on Mayweather’s lawsuit and its allegations, a spokesperson for Paramount, Showtime’s parent company, said late Tuesday: “These baseless claims lack legal or factual merit. We strongly reject them and will respond accordingly through the court process.”
