Fight of century becomes fight in court as fans sue Pacquiao

[webfact]

Fight of century becomes fight in court as fans sue Pacquiao
By KIMBERLY PIERCEALL

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Boxing fans across the country and their lawyers are calling the hyped-up fight between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr. a fraud and want their money back, and then some.

At least 32 class action lawsuits across the country allege Pacquiao should have disclosed a shoulder injury to boxing fans before the fight, which Mayweather won in a unanimous decision after 12 lackluster rounds that most fans thought didn't live up to the hype.

Fight of the century? More like fraud of the century, the lawsuits contend.

"The fight was not great, not entertaining, not electrifying. It was boring, slow and lackluster," according to a lawsuit filed in Texas alleging racketeering, a claim usually reserved for organized crime.

A lawsuit filed on behalf of Flights Beer Bar near LAX airport in California said Pacquiao and his promoter's actions were, "nothing but a cash-grab." The bar paid $2,600 to broadcast the fight.

As for that grabbed cash, the fighters are each expected to earn more than $100 million, Mayweather more than Pacquiao, and HBO and Showtime broke records raking in more than $400 million from 4.4 million paying to watch the pay-per-view broadcast.

Those 4.4 million paid up to $100 each to watch the fight, and the lawsuits are seeking their money back.

It isn't as easy as showing a receipt and demanding a refund, though. A federal panel of judges will likely first need to decide if the cases from multiple states and Puerto Rico should be consolidated into one case. From there, a judge would have to decide whether to certify them as class actions or not.

What's sought in each is the same: a jury trial and at least $5 million in damages, the threshold for federal class actions.

But the defendants differ. All include Pacquiao and his promotions team but some add Mayweather and his representatives along with HBO, Showtime and cable companies.

Representatives for Pacquiao and Top Rank Promotions, HBO and Showtime had no comment to offer on the lawsuits and Mayweather Promotions did not return multiple phone messages.

Exhibit A for most of the lawsuits is a Nevada Athletic Commission medical questionnaire that Pacquiao signed days before the fight. When asked if he had any injuries including to his shoulder he replied "no."

In fact, his shoulder was injured enough to warrant surgery shortly after the fight.

In a twist reserved for who-done-its, Pacquiao revealed for the first time in a post-fight press conference that he had torn his rotator cuff weeks before. The Nevada Athletic Commission denied him a pain reliever mere hours before the fight when regulators first learned of the injury.

Conspiracy theories abound as to how many people knew about the injury and when, including claims in a few of the lawsuits that Mayweather had a spy in Pacquiao's camp and the boxer targeted Pacquiao's right shoulder during the fight.

Experts in resolving legal disputes doubt disgruntled boxing fans will be able to claim victory.

"They'd have more lawsuits if they didn't hold the fight," said Maureen Weston, director of Pepperdine University's entertainment, media and sports dispute resolution project.

If a fight is what fans were paying for, the fighters unquestionably delivered, she said. Just because people didn't like the show doesn't mean they get their money back, she said.

Ultimately, the question is, who did Pacquiao have a legal duty to explain his injury to? Weston said.

Short answer: He didn't have to tell viewers, Weston said. The only contract viewers had was with their cable companies, which in turn had contracts with HBO and Showtime.

It's not the first time customers have taken their fight to court when things didn't go quite the way they expected in the field of entertainment.

Remember Milli Vanilli? Music fans in the 1990s argued the lip-synching pop duo owed them a refund once it was revealed they weren't actually singing.

Or the bite-fight with Mike Tyson? Sports fans may have gotten an earful but they contended they didn't pay to see a boxing match only for it to be disqualified.

Neither resulted in judgments for refund-seeking customers. Milli Vanilli fans got a buck or two back in a settlement.

So if viewers were promised a fight, and they got a 12-round fight, isn't that enough?

Lawyer Caleb Marker, who represents clients in two separate class action suits against Pacquiao, says that's arguable.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-05-19

[Seastallion]

May as well sue Mayweather, then, for not actually fighting.

[andrewrooney]

Boring fight, yes, but I don't think there's a law that says boxers have to be entertaining. Maybe these people should have bought a pro wrestling pay-per-view instead?

That said I'm glad the fight was free here, I probably would have been annoyed if I paid $100 to watch it.

[Baerboxer]

May as well sue Mayweather, then, for not actually fighting.

He "boxed" - the art of boxing. Nobody told him anything about having to fight

19 years avoiding punishment, massive wealth, full faculties and good health. Whose the mug - certainly not Mr. Mayweather Jr or Sr?

[ezzra]

Wait just a minute guys... when did a mega boxing match become to be about pure boxing

and not about the money alone? pure boxing match can only be viewed at a amateur level

where there is no money involve.. the rest, it's allllll about the revenues...

[English 1]

The money guys fooled everyone with the American style Hype. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

[elgordo38]

May as well sue Mayweather, then, for not actually fighting.

The WWF would offer you more bang for your buck.

[HerbalEd]

If indeed Pacquiao, his trainer and his manager knew he had a injured/troubling shoulder before the fight then it could be considered fraud or something else illegal ... or, at least, unethical. But many fighters and other athletes often compete with injuries. However, if every athlete could not compete with an injury, there would be no sports. So, the question here is: Where do you draw the line when it comes to competing with an injury? How much injury, disability and/or pain is too much to compete?

Anyway ... the fight was rather boring and a big disappointment. But sometimes that's because the fighters are so good during a match than neither has the ability to knock out or TKO the other fighter.

[Monkeyrobot]

Good luck getting your money back, should I sue for the 1000b I lost to one of the girls I bet with in Cowboy? She just laughing at me , you ting tong man she say while eating her Som Tum.

[HerbalEd]

Good luck getting your money back, should I sue for the 1000b I lost to one of the girls I bet with in Cowboy? She just laughing at me , you ting tong man she say while eating her Som Tum.

She's probably laughing anyway.

[Suradit69]

Ah, the American way. Don't like something? SUE.

As that great philosopher Weird Al Janovic sang:

I sued Taco Bell
'Cause I ate half a million Chalupas
And I got fat!

I sued Panasonic
They never said I shouldn't use their microwave
To dry off my cat

I sued Delta Airlines
'Cause they sold me a ticket to New Jersey
I went there, and it sucked!

I sued Starbucks
'Cause I spilled a Frappucino in my lap
And brrr, it was cold!

I sued Toys'R'Us
'Cause I swallowed a Nerf ball
And nearly choked to death

... and much more

http://www.metrolyrics.com/ill-sue-ya-lyrics-weird-al-yankovic.html

[RaoulDuke]

If these simpletons really wanted to see a brutal slugfest, perhaps they should have found a fight with two boxers that are not already well past their prime, stupidly wealthy, with nothing to gain, and everything to lose. As long as the sheeple run around believing in the hype and ignoring common sense, they will continue to be fleeced by such hollow marketing campaigns. This fight did exactly what it was supposed to do, make a small number of multimillionaires richer at the expense of the ignorant masses.

[catweazle]

What an idiotic claim! The judge should fine all those morons for wasting tax payer's money and for wasting the court's time! How can it become liability of a sports person that "excitement" is guaranteed in any event? Is it April 1st again???

Also, any gown up should know by now that in sports as in any other "gamble" certain "pre-arrangements" could have been made by the people in charge, so what?

[cookee68]

He should have pulled out, but to be honest, I expected no more than a boring grab and jab from Mayweather anyway, he should have fought Khan, who would have been a better fight, why does Mayweather avoid him, because Khan beat Madina too

[Suradit69]

May as well sue Mayweather, then, for not actually fighting.

The WWF would offer you more bang for your buck.

Or even Walking Street late on a Friday night.

[cookee68]

Good luck getting your money back, should I sue for the 1000b I lost to one of the girls I bet with in Cowboy? She just laughing at me , you ting tong man she say while eating her Som Tum.

She's probably laughing anyway.

Yes because she would not have paid you had she lost, only said you Farang have plenty money, why you want take my money, I poor, I no eat. I only bar girl, heard it many times when they loose a bet. but maybe your one was special

[Maggusoil]

. . . . the lawyer says the case "is arguable".

there's another fight people are going to pay for, and will the lawyer produce the results everyone wants?

We doubt it.

[FangFerang]

"The (event) was not great, not entertaining, not electrifying. It was boring, slow and lackluster,"

This quote could describe a large majority of sporting events, and most movies, but no one is suing over those obvious non-events. Demanding he release an injury report is absurd--injury reports concerning sport are strictly for gambling purposes.....

Sounds like the odds makers were off more than a bit......

[cornishcarlos]

Like sueing a fishing charter company because you didn't catch anything

[maidee]

it was a boring fight

and they got 3 and 4 billion baht for it...

UFC, now there is an exiting sport ... and the top fighters maybe get between 500.000 - 1.000.000$ MAX

low levels do it for 15.000$

with the hope on a bonus of 50k US$ if they get fight of the night / submission of the night

[cornishcarlos]

Here's one for you then...

12 rounds of Money vs Pac or

91 secs of Tyson vs Spinks ?

Both the biggest grossing fights of their time. Tyson got $20mil for a minute plus of work. No-one mentioned sueing anyone then

[gyrosman]

Simple, find a new sport or perhaps do your own sport. Skiing, diving, etc... Get your ass off the bar stood.

[BKKBobby]

Suing Pacquio because the fight wasnt as good as the hype made you believe, LOL. Whats next, suing a singer because the concert wasnt good. Crazy.

Edited May 20, 2015 by BKKBobby

[cloghead]

"the first thing we do...is kill all the lawyers"

William Shakespeare--Henry The Sixth, Part 2 Act 4, scene 2, 71–78

...or something like that...

Edited May 21, 2015 by cloghead