Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s planned weekend exhibition with a professional kickboxer in Greece has been called off amid the ongoing legal battle stemming from contracts the 50-0 boxer signed for matches against Manny Pacquiao and Mike Tyson.
Mayweather’s exhibition with Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis was canceled Thursday after the Las Vegas-based fighter had already arrived in the country.
The sudden cancellation comes as CSI Sports, the events company that was set to put on the Mayweather-Pacquiao rematch and the Tyson exhibition, filed an emergency injunction to halt the Greece exhibition. CSI is also suing Mayweather and his representative Frist Apex, for at least $4.65 million, related to advances paid to the boxer from the purses he was set to make for the Pacquiao and Tyson fights, claiming Mayweather breached their contract by signing the Zambidis bout before the two fights CSI signed him to occurred.
Melissa Glass, Mayweather’s attorney, told Southern District of New York District Judge Vernon Broderick in a letter that since there was yet to be a ruling on the lawsuit that the bout was canceled.
CSI attorney Judd Burnstein also wrote to Broderick following the exhibition’s cancellation, requesting he still rule on the injunction, but with no fight let to halt, that it be moved to prevent Mayweather from signing any other bout before fulfilling his exhibition with Tyson and his rematch with Mayweather.
“Given that Ms. Glass has informed the Court that the fight between Defendant Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Mike Zambidi previously scheduled for June 27, 2026 will not be going forward this Saturday, I respectfully ask that the Court grant Plaintiffs’ motion for a Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) to the extent of restraining Mayweather from entering into any new agreement for another bout before the Court can hold a hearing on Plaintiffs’ motion for a Preliminary Injunction,” Burnstein’s letter read. “I am prepared to work cooperatively with opposing counsel to agree on an expedited discovery schedule so that Mayweather gets the benefit of a prompt hearing.”
Burnstein requested that the matter be heard next week at the court’s convenience.
Burnstein suggested in a previous letter to the judge that the Tyson exhibition is now being planned for September and if that was to occur, that the Pacquiao rematch would happen in January.
Neither of those bouts is a given to happen, as Mayweather’s legal team submitted a notice of termination on June 9 on his behalf to CSI, stating the fighter’s business relationship with the events company was over.
Mayweather was initially set to face Tyson in an exhibition this past spring, but Tyson suffered an injury during training for the fight and a firm date was never set for the bout. Mayweather was also planned for a sanctioned rematch with Pacquiao, initially announced for Sept. 19 as the first boxing match to be held at Sphere and would be live streamed on Netflix.
Weeks after the Paqcquiao bout was announced, Mayweather cast doubt about the fight, saying that Sphere wasn’t the set location for the bout and that it would be an exhibition, not a sanctioned fight. Rumors swirled of a Sept. 25 date, potentially for T-Mobile Arena, but an announcement was never made for the bout.
Keane Anis, CEO of Front Row, who was promoting the Mayweather-Zambidis bout, said in a letter to the court that they had committed around $7 million in association with putting on the fight, including a Las Vegas news conference and the staging of the event in Greece.
Front Row had already paid Mayweather $3 million, in addition to covering the travel expenses of Mayweather, his team and associates. Mayweather was set to receive at least $10 million for the exhibition after the fight gate and broadcast revenue was accounted for.
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on X.
