Unhappy fans cannot sue over Mayweather-Pacquiao bout: U.S. court

Unhappy fans cannot sue over Mayweather-Pacquiao bout: U.S. court https://s3.yimg.com/lo/api/res/1.2/.K0tWk7O4Ug3x2AK4QuAgQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW15O3E9NzU7dz02NDA7c209MQ--/https://media.zenfs.com/en-US/reuters.com/0117ff5300ae0faabcb1915a716f9a2d (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Thursday said boxing fans who felt cheated after learning that Manny Pacquiao had been injured before fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr. cannot pursue class-action litigation because the 2015 welterweight bout dubbed the "Fight of the Century" proved to be a letdown. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 3-0 that fans and pay-per-view subscribers who paid hundreds of millions of dollars to watch a "yawner" of a fight "got what they paid for" when Mayweather and Pacquiao stepped into a Las Vegas ring, with Mayweather winning a unanimous 12-round decision. Circuit Judge Jacqueline Nguyen said the plaintiffs suffered no legal injury from Pacquiao's failure to reveal a four-week-old injury to his right shoulder until three hours before the May 2, 2015, fight started. She said letting the case proceed could fundamentally alter professional sports by requiring athletes to disclose minor injuries, which opponents could use to their advantage, or risk a slew of lawsuits. "Although the match may have lacked the drama worthy of the pre-fight hype, Pacquiao's shoulder condition did not prevent him from going the full 12 rounds," Nguyen wrote. "Plaintiffs therefore essentially got what they paid for - a full-length regulation fight between these two boxing legends." Nguyen also noted a New York state appeals court had dismissed fraud claims when Mike Tyson was disqualified for biting off part of Evander Holyfield's ear in a 1997 heavyweight bout, because fans had paid to see "whatever event transpired." Mayweather-Pacquiao tickets started at $1,500 and fetched up to $231,000 on the secondary market. Commercial subscribers paid up to $10,000 for pay-per-view access. Hart Robinovitch, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, did not respond to requests for comment. Defendants included Mayweather and Pacquiao, AT&T Inc's HBO unit, which co-produced the fight, and promoters Top Rank and Bob Arum. "We are very pleased," Daniel Petrocelli, a lawyer for Top Rank and Arum, said in an interview. "The court established the very important principle that while sports fans may be zealous and passionate they do not have the right to sue because they are disappointed in how a contest was conducted, or in the outcome." Mayweather's lawyer Mark Tratos said the decision shows that ticketholders get "no guarantee" they will like what they watch. HBO did not respond to requests for comment. It decided in September 2018 to stop televising boxing. The Pasadena, California-based appeals court's decision upheld an August 2017 dismissal by U.S. District Judge Gary Klausner in Los Angeles. The case is In re: Pacquiao-Mayweather Boxing Match Pay-Per-View Litigation, 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 17-56366. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Bill Berkrot) https://www.yahoo.com/sports/unhappy-fans-cannot-sue-over-193607857.html

Comments (20)

i would sue over the fight ending, it was the greatest boxing match of all time !

6y ago

Dosumpthin

Sure, show me USADA's denial of it then. You want proof that a fairytale doesn't exist? lol. Use common sense. Bob Arum claimed they received a THERAPUTIC USE EXEMTPION (TUE) from USADA. (That's the "approval document ".) Yes out of Bab Arums mouth he claimed to have had a ****in TUE. Simple. You dont get an EXEMPTION for a drug that isn't banned. I dont need proof from USADA to know team Pac is lying. WTF?

6y ago

D4thincarnation

lol. 4 years later no one has been able to locate this "approval document" for Mannys drugs. Maybe it's time to accept Bob Arum lied about receiving approval. Sure, show me USADA's denial of it then.

6y ago

Dosumpthin

But Pacquiao’s camp was told by his orthopedist that he could take the injection if he wanted, and USADA approved the in-competition use of the remedy in a document. The problem was that USADA never shared its approval with the state commission, Chairman Francisco Aguilar said Sunday, and when Pacquiao’s camp told the commission it wanted the fighter to take the injection at 6:08 p.m. on fight night, the request was rejected. https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-mayweather-pacquiao-20150504-story.html Now why would NSAC hinder a fighter so much because of a clerical error. Why? Floyd orchestrated it, as show of his knowledge of Pacquiao injury with his tactics in the fight. lol. 4 years later no one has been able to locate this "approval document" for Mannys drugs. Maybe it's time to accept Bob Arum lied about receiving approval.

6y ago

D4thincarnation

USADA never "cleared" the shot... no matter what Bob Arum tells you. But you know this already. So that makes you a liar. Got caught with drugs in the dressing room and made up a fake injury for cover. Quick thinking by Bob but they underestimated the stupidity of *******s bringing a class action lawsuit. So more lying about the injury and a fake non invasive surgery that didnt require recovery or rehabilitation. Time to get over the loss kid. But Pacquiao’s camp was told by his orthopedist that he could take the injection if he wanted, and USADA approved the in-competition use of the remedy in a document. The problem was that USADA never shared its approval with the state commission, Chairman Francisco Aguilar said Sunday, and when Pacquiao’s camp told the commission it wanted the fighter to take the injection at 6:08 p.m. on fight night, the request was rejected. https://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-mayweather-pacquiao-20150504-story.html Now why would NSAC hinder a fighter so much because of a clerical error. Why? Floyd orchestrated it, as show of his knowledge of Pacquiao injury with his tactics in the fight.

6y ago

Dosumpthin

Yeah that is why Floyd was targeting the right shoulder and punching it, then yanking it and a red mark can clearly been shown on it. Injury declared, the drug authority cleared it. Floyd was desperate to go to these measures. USADA never "cleared" the shot... no matter what Bob Arum tells you. But you know this already. So that makes you a liar. Got caught with drugs in the dressing room and made up a fake injury for cover. Quick thinking by Bob but they underestimated the stupidity of *******s bringing a class action lawsuit. So more lying about the injury and a fake non invasive surgery that didnt require recovery or rehabilitation. Time to get over the loss kid.

6y ago

Zaroku

we all know.. we know in super slow motion pac, whips everyone in any weight division, and catch weights too... schit... i want pac to ko space aliens if they got the ****ing balut and the bazalls to come back to reclaim that ship area 51... pax 9 pacman is chin checking space aliens. and co signing the execution of meth heads..M WAR MAMMY MANNY.... KO CHINA AND SAVE THE WORLD please pac man.. save the world.. you are the man... you can ko planets... hog tie stars.... gravity take s a week off... when you pound alexkids left overs...

6y ago

Goldie

Sorry floyd lovers... Floyd admitted that he was to blame for fighting scared. Pac is injured but he still make floyd go to a survival mode.... Sorry ms. Pasawayako, but even 4 and half years later your tears are still delicious. Seriously, this couldn’t have happened to a more deserving group of people. Pacquiao fans are clearly the most feminine b*tchmade fan base that boxing has ever seen. It’s not even close. I’ve never ever encountered a more insufferable pathetic group. Just no integrity and it’s all pacquiao’s fault because he embodies it with his fake humbleness and humility. He’s a fake phony POS and so are his fans. He lied about his shoulder being injured in an attempt to save face and *****ed himself out of the at least 8 figures he would’ve got in the rematch in the process. Floyd was actually going to give this guy a rematch until he came with the lies about being injured lol. Floyd realized that pacquiao is a POS and is just going to troll him from here on out and what he/y’all deserve. Gotta live with it forever.

6y ago

Richard_G

Came out from floyd own mouth. "I owe the boxing fans for the pacquiao fight" for being so scared and boring.. LMAO. Never happy. Jeff Horn wasn't scared or boring and made a real fight of it with Packy but you Pactrads still complained.

6y ago

WholeSoul75

Pac used 5+ years to get ''certain'' ingredients out of his system. May caught TeamPac off guard with that 24/7 test requirement. Not off guard but more like this..there's a professional way of presenting a new protocol. Claiming a-side meth? Probably not the best route for cooperation. https://youtu.be/DBI7sF8gQkU

6y ago

D4thincarnation

Pacquiao declared he had no injuries, his doctor said he was fit to fight. NSAC don't approve painkillers for fit fighters. After getting caught trying to use unapproved drugs, he had to fake an injury. Yeah that is why Floyd was targeting the right shoulder and punching it, then yanking it and a red mark can clearly been shown on it. Injury declared, the drug authority cleared it. Floyd was desperate to go to these measures.

6y ago

D4thincarnation

Pac was the reason the fight was postponed in the 1st place. Years later, it was May who got the ball rolling again. So many excuses, none made any sense :lol1: The ultimate masking job :firedevil Pac picked the absolute best time to cry about an ''ongoing'' injury and correct it. Makes sense since he really only needed to be 10% to beat everyone not named May and JMM. That other stuff requires links. I love INDEPENDENT facts :) Nope, it was Floyd. When Pacquiao agreed, Floyd made more demands to prevent the fight. Floyd just had to want the fight for it to happen. Floyd waited till he bulked up, and Pacquiao got knocked out, old and slowed down. And they had to get the ref in his pocket and the prevent Pacquiao getting a legal shot, while taking an illegal one himself to mask his PED use.

6y ago

D4thincarnation

Pacquiao not being allowed the shot had nothing to do with Mayweather. The commission decided he couldn't have it because Pacquiao and his doctor said he wasn't injured and was fit to fight. Mayweather got pull will the commission. It was an USADA approved shot, and all it does is localized pain relief. I guess Mayweather had to go down to those measures and all the other tricks he pulled before he would step into a ring with Pacquiao.

6y ago

pasawayako

USADA aproved floyd IV that could mask any PEDS while they prevented pac to use the painkillier for his injured shoulder.. This is how even playing field for floyd. If floy dont have the advantage (gloves, ring, ref, judges, usada, Vegas) he will not call it an even fight.

6y ago

D4thincarnation

If he was ''so injured'', he shouldn't have fought. If it wasn't ''that serious'', he and his fans need to accept the defeat with ''class'' :lol1: Why are Pacbois not understanding this ? It was long existing injury that re injured in camp. Stopping him sparing and training effectively. Pacquiao had waited 6 years for the fight and postponing wasn't an option. A pain relief shot was the method they should have been able to use. USADA cleared them to do it. But for a clerical error NSAC stopped, Floyd got to them. You need to accept the FACTS. Nearly 5 years on, and nobody can tell me why Floyd had to take an illegal IV, used to mask PED use.

6y ago

D4thincarnation

How are idiots in this thread blaming Mayweather for Pacquiao being or pretending to be injured? If he was injured he robbed his fans, if he wasn't he's a sore loser. Mayweather stopping Pacquiao getting his USADA approved shot. Floyd knew about it beforehand and even in the fight you can see him targeting his shoulder and yanking on his right arm

6y ago

D4thincarnation

Yet Floyd Fanboys will claim Pacquiao was not injured.

6y ago

Real_King_Kong

And all Pac had to do was let us know he was ''injured'' in training camp. But nah :) So you’re saying if pac wasn’t “injured”, the fight would have somehow lived up to the “fight of the century” billing and everyone would be happy?

6y ago

Zaroku

Lots of Filipinos pressing him in the interview...no goggles. I saw that, they were putting him on the spot, and he just tried to laugh it off and smile a lot.. Good interviewer. thanks again for the video

6y ago

WholeSoul75

PAC needed to KO himself against marquez to pump floyd up to take the fight, either that, or marquez tripped pac onto his fist, or it was a lucky punch, even though jim lamply was describing it as it happened. I love Filipino people, but they got pac goggles on at all times. Lots of Filipinos pressing him in the interview...no goggles.

6y ago