California court delivers Manny Pacquiao victory over Conor McGregor's agent
Aug 19, 2024 • 12:17 AM ET
Manny Pacquiao’s legal battle with combat sports agent Audie Attar and his Paradigm Sports Management has been officially pronounced a courtroom triumph for the eight-division champion from the Philippines.
“Knockout complete!” Pacquiao adviser Sean Gibbons texted BoxingScene late Sunday night.
Gibbons distributed news reports and courtroom documents from last week showing that the Orange County (Calif.) Superior Court affirmed the decision by Judge Walter Schwarn to toss the verdict that originally awarded Attar/Paradigm $5.1 million for breach of contract and breach of implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing.
Instead, Schwarm reportedly found that Attar – a former UCLA football player who represents former UFC champion Conor McGregor and others – was not licensed as a manager under California law.
Pacquiao had previously negotiated with Attar/Paradigm with a boxing match against McGregor among the possible deal points.
“The court finds … the contract void due to illegality,” the Philippines Business Mirror reported after reviewing court documents.
“Manny Pacquiao … did nothing wrong,” Gibbons told the Business Mirror.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
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