WHEN it rains, it pours.
Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s money problems are cropping up faster than the American boxing legend can unload a counterpunch.
Prosecutors from the Clark County District Office in Nevada recently filed criminal felony charges, not the usual civil lawsuit, against Mayweather for writing a bad check to buy a $200,000 Audemars Piguet luxury watch.
Mayweather made the purchase at Gold and Beyond, a luxury resale boutique located in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Prosecutors charged Mayweather with two counts: felony for theft of property valued at more than $100,000 and for issuing a worthless check with intent to defraud. Intent to defraud is presumed if the amount involved in the bad check is worth $1,200 or more. Mayweather wrote a $200,000 check from his Wells Fargo account in December 2024 to Gold and Beyond.
Prosecutors allege Mayweather took possession of the watch while knowing his account lacked the funds to cover it.
Under Nevada law, a felony charge is a serious crime prosecuted by the State that can result in state prison time. A civil charge is a private dispute between individuals or businesses, usually seeking financial restitution rather than jail time.
If convicted on all counts, Mayweather could face a combined maximum of up to 24 years in prison.
Nevada prosecutors are not the only ones after Mayweather.
Promoter CSI Sports Events also filed a breach of contract lawsuit against Mayweather. The suit alleges that Mayweather breached exclusive promotional rights for a proposed Mike Tyson exhibition and a Manny Pacquiao rematch, and is seeking $6.65 million in restitution while attempting to block Mayweather’s scheduled exhibition against retired kickboxer Mike Zambidis in Greece.
CSI claims it paid a $4.5 million advance to First Apex Ventures (Mayweather’s management at the time) for the rights to promote an exhibition between Mayweather and Tyson, followed by a professional rematch against Pacquiao.
The Tyson exhibition was originally booked for May 30, 2026, but was postponed after Tyson sustained a hand injury. CSI contends that Mayweather was contractually prohibited from fighting anyone else until the Tyson rematch was rescheduled.
CSI also asserts in its lawsuit that Mayweather entered a separate deal with Everwonder Studios for a Pacquiao fight intended to air on Netflix, violating CSI’s exclusive rights to said fight.
Mayweather instead announced an exhibition fight with Zambidis this month in Athens. This prompted CSI to file the breach of contract lawsuit.
CSI is also asking the court to issue an injunction or temporary restraining order to prevent Mayweather from fighting Zambidis.
Mayweather taking his fistic act to Athens or anywhere outside the United States is also facing a legal challenge from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS, the equivalent of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in the Philippines).
The IRS is after Mayweather for the amount of $7.2 million, representing unpaid taxes from 2018 to 2023. The IRS’s tax lien has raised the possibility of Mayweather’s passport being revoked. Mayweather’s tax attorneys are reportedly coordinating with the agency to allow the boxer to travel overseas.
Still can’t get enough of Mayweather’s money woes?
Three months ago, a Nevada judge legally declared Mayweather the father of a 4-year-old girl, Price Moorehead, born in December 2021. The court ordered Mayweather to pay $32,850 per month in an ongoing child support case, along with $933,050 in retroactive/back child support.
The mother of the child claimed she worked at Mayweather’s night club and had an on-and-off relationship with the boxer for about eight years.
Mayweather allegedly wanted the mother to terminate the pregnancy when she became pregnant in 2021. Subsequently, Mayweather dismissed the mother from his night club.
After Mayweather ignored multiple court orders and refused to submit to a DNA test, the judge issued a default ruling in favor of the mother.
Mayweather earned an estimated $1.16 billion in career earnings as a professional boxer.
Then again, Mayweather’s massive overspending, high-risk borrowing and fraud committed by former associates slowly drained his piggy bank.
Mayweather continued to purchase expensive cars and luxurious homes even when the influx of cash had stopped after he retired from boxing in 2017.
To stay financially afloat, Mayweather reportedly borrowed $54 million at a 9-percent interest rate from a financier. He put up as collateral his 14 residential properties, his private jet, and his Las Vegas strip club, exposing himself to asset seizures when the debt remained unsettled.
As things stand, Mayweather reluctantly agreed to a rematch with Pacquiao to salvage his financial coffers. However, the Pacquiao fight is also in jeopardy given the legal, promotional issues associated with it.
