Business Standard

Lawsuits against Mayweather, Pacquiao and HBO thrown out

- EDVARD PETTERSSON

Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao can’t be sued for a disappoint­ing boxing performanc­e.

According to a federal judge in Los Angeles, ticket buyers and pay-per-view watchers of the fighters’ May 2015 bout, in which Pacquiao fought with an injured shoulder, got what they paid for: a boxing match.

The judge threw out dozens of lawsuits Friday against the two boxers and Time Warner’s HBO over the quality of the fight, saying viewers weren’t guaranteed a battled that lived up to the prefight hype. The ruling comes a day before Mayweather will put his undefeated record on the line against mixed martial arts’ biggest McGregor.

“The reason that competitiv­e sports is so compelling is precisely because the outcome is always at least somewhat uncertain,” US District Judge R Gary Klausner wrote in his decision. “Competitiv­e strategies are ever-changing, and the quality of performanc­e at any given event is consistent­ly unpredicta­ble.”

The boxers, the fight’s promoters and HBO were sued by viewers who paid as much as $99.95 to watch it on television. The plaintiffs claimed they were cheated because the promoters concealed Pacquiao’s injury. Pacquiao lost the fight in a 12round decision and later revealed he suffered a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder during training. BLOOMBERG star, Conor

The plaintiffs claimed they were cheated because the Pacquiao’s injurywas concealed

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