Potential class-action lawsuit filed against Manny Pacquiao, Top Rank
Manny Pacquiao is named in a potential class-action lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas on Tuesday. The suit is seeking damages for the defendants' failure to disclose an injury sustained by Pacquiao before Saturday's world unification welterweight championship bout against Floyd Mayweather.
The lawsuit, first reported by KLAS-TV in Las Vegas, seeks damages of as much as $5 million. It names as defendants Pacquiao, Top Rank Inc., Pacquiao promoter and Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, Pacquiao adviser Michael Koncz and Top Rank president Todd Duboef.
Pacquiao lost Saturday's fight—termed the "Fight of the Century" in the suit—by a 12-round unanimous decision. In his post-fight press conference, Pacquiao said he was fighting with a shoulder injury he sustained in training. The 36-year-old boxer also said he sought to take an anti-inflammatory shot hours before the fight, but the Nevada Athletic Commission denied his request.
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On Monday, it was revealed that Pacquiao will have surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff in his right shoulder. He is expected to need three to eight months to recover.
"You know, this training camp, I thought we were planning to postpone our event," Pacquiao said after the fight. "It had been two weeks I didn't train good, or I didn't use my right hand."
The notion of disciplinary action against Pacquiao gained steam when Nevada Athletic Commission chairman Francisco Aguilar said the Nevada attorney general's office will investigate why Pacquiao checked "no" on a questionnaire asking whether he had an injury before Friday's weigh-in. The suit filed Tuesday also acknowledges Pacquiao checked "no" on the form, which was filled out by the boxer, Koncz and others.
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The suit's plaintiffs, Staphane Vanel and Kami Rahbaran, are both listed as Clark County, Nev., residents and purchasers of "tickets and/or the pay per view event" for the fight. The suit claims "All members of the Class relied upon the misrepresentations and the non-disclosures in purchasing tickets; purchasing pay per view showings; and in making wagers on the Event."
- Mike Fiammetta
