By Ronnie Nathanielsz

The lawsuit filed by Duane Moody against  Zindzi Mandela, the daughter of Nobel peace prize winner and South African leader Nelson Mandela, has been branded as ”bogus” by the South African company that handled Zindi’s negotiations to stage a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr fight to celebrate Mandela’s 93rd birthday in the township of Soweto.

Mandela’s representative from Mohlaleng Media brushed aside the claim and the default judgment of $7.5 million granted to boxing adviser Moody who had put Zindzi Mandela in touch with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mandela also met with Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum just once at the Beverly Hills hotel, according to Koncz.

Mohlaleng Media CEO Mbuso Thabethe was quoted by iafrica.com as saying “Moody was trying to sue for something that did not happen, saying that he had worked out some deal he was part of.”

Meantime, VisionQuest Resources Group Inc., of Glendale, California - which for some time was involved in working on Pacquiao’s finances - said they were working together with Mohlaleng Media in trying to organize the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight.

VisionQuest said Zindzi Mandela works as a consultant of Mohlaleng “but has no legal ability to make deals for Mohlaleng. At no time did Moody approach VisionQuest regarding his representation as to being a fight promoter.”

However, VisionQuest conceded that while Moody approached Mohlaleng and said he had contact with Mayweather’s team “at no time was Moody involved in any negotiations between the two companies or any of the fighters and their contracted promoters.”

VisionQuest in their statement said both companies “began discussions with Pacquiao (represented by Top Rank) and Mayweather (represented by Jeff Mayweather and manager Al Haymon). No final agreement was reached around the financial arrangement and both parties amicably agreed to end discussions” even as it stressed that Moody “was never involved in any of these discussions nor did he have a contractual relationship with any of the parties involved.”