Court settlement clears path for $200m Mayweather v Pacquiao superfight

The hotly anticipated superfight between Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao has taken a step closer as the two fighters settle a long-standing defamation case in Las Vegas.

Fight fans around the world now hope this will pave the way for the $200million showdown in Sin City to be confirmed. 

Pacquiao filed the lawsuit in December 2009 seeking unspecified damages based on allegations that Floyd Mayweather Jnr defamed him by suggesting he used performance-enhancing substances. 

Terms of the agreement cited in documents filed in the US District Court in Las Vegas are confidential, said Malcolm LaVergne, a lawyer representing Floyd Mayweather Jnr's father in the case. 


LaVergne said documents filed under seal ask US District Judge Larry R. Hicks to dismiss the lawsuit, and that others involved in the case were preparing a public statement. Documents filed publicly said each side would bear its own attorney fees and costs. 

In a statement the Mayweathers said: 'We wish to make it clear that they never intended to claim that Manny Pacquiao has used or is using any performance-enhancing drugs, nor are they aware of any evidence that Manny Pacquiao has used performance-enhancing drugs.'

The direction of the case took a turn against Floyd Mayweather Jnr last week, when the judge issued a ruling ordering him to pay £70,000 in legal fees and costs for avoiding questioning under oath from Pacquiao's lawyers. 

Hicks faulted Mayweather for failure to comply with a court order. But he earlier rejected a bid by Pacquiao's lawyers to end the lawsuit with a more severe sanction - a default judgment for Pacquiao. 

Nevada State Athletic Commission chief Keith Kizer said he wasn't aware of any talks between the two camps about scheduling a fight. But Kizer said such a fight could set records for the highest purse, gate and number of cable television paid viewers. 

A Mayweather-Pacquiao fight might eclipse the Mayweather super welterweight fight against Oscar De La Hoya that drew 17,078 fans to the MGM Grand Garden Arena in May 2007, Kizer said. Paid attendance was £11.3m. 

'Based on my dealings with the boxing public and boxing insiders, the proposed Mayweather-Pacquiao fight has as much interest as any fight I can remember in the last 20 years,' Kizer said. 'I think this would be our first gate over £12.3m.'