- A U.S. court ordered Floyd Mayweather Jr. to pay $2.4 million in damages for breaching a contract with Zinni Media
- Mayweather’s legal team argued he shouldn’t repay Zinni Media due to their Nigerian base, but the lawsuit was ultimately successful
A U.S. court has ruled that former world boxing champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. must pay $2.4 million in damages to Zinni Media Concept Limited, a Nigerian company, for breach of contract.
According to Alex Nwankwo, the company’s media executive, Zinni Media agreed with Mayweather in June 2017 for the boxer to make several appearances in Africa, including one in Nigeria. However, Mayweather cancelled the contract without refunding the advance payment made by the company.
Nwankwo explained that Mayweather’s legal team had suggested he could avoid repayment because Zinni Media was not based in the U.S. After several failed attempts to recover the funds, the Nigerian firm filed a lawsuit in 2018, accusing Mayweather of breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and fraud.
In October 2023, a California court ordered Mayweather to pay $1,638,542 in damages, $721,881.32 in interest, $16,270 in attorney fees, and $285 in costs, totalling $2,376,978. Mayweather appealed the ruling, but on August 27, 2024, the appellate court upheld the lower court’s decision.
Nwankwo noted that despite the ruling, Mayweather has not yet paid the amount, accumulating interest at 10 percent per year. The court has authorized U.S. attorneys to enforce the judgment by seizing assets, including Mayweather’s 2015 Bugatti Veyron or 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta, both valued above the owed damages.