Two days before the first bell, the show in Athens was gone. Floyd Mayweather’s eight-round exhibition against Mike Zambidis, set for Saturday, was cancelled after a legal fight with CSI Sports, the promoter he signed with for planned bouts against Mike Tyson and Manny Pacquiao.
CSI filed a temporary restraining order and a breach of contract lawsuit. Its argument was that Mayweather had signed an exclusive deal covering the Tyson and Pacquiao matchups, and that fighting Zambidis first would do “irreparable harm” to the company. CSI says it paid him $4.65 million (£3.53 million) under that agreement.
A motion nobody ruled on
Here is the detail that matters. No judge decided anything. Mayweather’s attorney, Melissa Glass, wrote to Judge Vernon Broderick that because the plaintiffs’ motion “remains pending without a ruling, the Mayweather-Zambidis event will no longer proceed in Athens, Greece, as planned on Saturday evening.”
The lawsuit, she said, and the legal threats in the United States and Greece had “effectively stopped any promotion or distribution plans for the event and halted ticket sales.” With the situation in Athens shifting and the June 27 start time close, the decision was to cancel.
Seventeen scheduled contests across boxing, kickboxing, MMA, Muay Thai and freestyle wrestling went down with the main event. Because the injunction is still pending, Glass said the fight could be rescheduled later.
Another dropped date
Mayweather, 49, began 2026 by announcing three fights: two exhibitions and what was billed as a return to professional boxing. The Tyson exhibition planned for April was called off because of an injury. Zambidis makes the second scheduled fight to fall through.
The Pacquiao rematch is stuck behind all of this. Reports say CSI and Tyson’s team still want their exhibition, possibly in September. If it goes ahead, any Pacquiao fight would have to wait until 2027, if it happens at all.
Mayweather also has trouble outside the ring. He was recently accused of writing a bad check for a $200,000 luxury watch.
Sources
- Floyd Mayweather vs Mike Zambidis Canceled Amid Legal Dispute
- Floyd Mayweather’s return against Mike Zambidis called off after legal dispute
Sources
- Floyd Mayweather Exhibition Canceled Amid Legal Dispute
- Floyd Mayweather’s return against Mike Zambidis… | PRIMEFIGHT.TV
