A FEDERAL JUDGE in the US has ordered boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr to pay about $114,000 for avoiding questioning from rival fighter Manny Pacquiao’s lawyers in a defamation case.
Attorneys for Pacquiao earlier lost a bid to end the lawsuit with a more severe sanction — a default judgment for Pacquiao.
But on Monday they won more than $113,000 in legal fees and $774 in costs for what US District Judge Larry Hicks bluntly called “Mayweather’s obviously intentional decision not to appear for his court ordered deposition.”
Pacquiao, a Filipino fighter against whom the undefeated Mayweather is frequently measured, has alleged that Mayweather defamed him by suggesting Pacquiao used performance-enhancing substances. Pac-man has denied the claim. He filed the lawsuit in Las Vegas in December 2009 and has sought unspecified damages.
“Calling a professional athlete a cheater is the most serious charge one can make,” the lawsuit said. “Accusing an athlete of using performance-enhancing drugs — however baseless and lacking in evidence — is toxic.”
The two boxers have never fought in the ring, and the court saga playing out in Las Vegas has been seen as an impediment to a much-anticipated bout.
