Manny Pacquiao has suffered a defeat in his legal battle against Paradigm Sports, a management team, after a jury in Orange County, California, decided in favor of the latter in a breach of contract lawsuit filed against the veteran boxer. The verdict resulted in Paradigm Sports receiving $5.1 million in damages and at least $2 million in attorney fees. Additionally, a 10 percent annual interest on the verdict amount dating back three years is payable by Pacquiao.

Part of the judgment required a reimbursement of $3.3 million that Paradigm provided as an advance to Pacquiao when they signed him, and another $1.8 million in damages. This verdict implies that Pacquiao is now liable for an amount exceeding $8 million after the loss of the lawsuit in court. The trial was presided over by Judge Walter P. Schwarm, at Superior Court of California in Orange County.

“We are thrilled to learn about the verdict in favor of Paradigm in our lawsuit against Manny Pacquiao,” said Paradigm CEO Audie Attar in a statement. “The jury determined that Pacquiao had testified falsely when he denied Paradigm’s claims against him. Therefore, his excuses for his conduct reinforce our belief that a breach of contract had been committed. We are grateful for the court’s attention and the jury’s meticulous review of the case’s facts. We hope that Pacquiao has learned a valuable lesson and will start acting with honesty and integrity, which he lacked in his treatment of Paradigm.”

The lawsuit was initially filed in June 2021 after Paradigm Sports, Conor McGregor’s management firm, stated that they were negotiating a match between Pacquiao and the four-time world boxing champion, Mikey Garcia, after signing him as a client in February 2020. However, due to Pacquiao’s business associates, including Sean Gibbons and Winchell Campos, interfering, the agreement for the fight with Garcia was disrupted, and Pacquiao decided to work with Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions instead, eventually agreeing to a fight against Errol Spence. Consequently, Paradigm stepped up services, seeking damages, and eventually losing Garcia as a client.

As a result of the breach of the contract lawsuit, Pacquiao must pay $5.1 million in damages, the attorney fees incurred, and was ruled by the jury to have acted in bad faith.