The exhibition match between Floyd Mayweather and Mike Zambidis has been canceled at the last minute. A legal dispute in the U.S. has made it impossible to hold the event.
The exhibition bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and kickboxing legend Mike Zambidis, scheduled for Saturday in Athens, has been canceled for the time being. Just a few days before the event, the main event of the “Battle of the Legends” had to be postponed at the last minute due to an ongoing legal dispute.
The case stems from a lawsuit filed by CSI Sports Events against Mayweather. The plaintiffs accuse the former world champion of breach of contract and have also filed for a preliminary injunction to stop the exhibition match. Although no final court ruling has been issued as of now, the ongoing legal proceedings alone have made it impossible to organize the event as originally planned.
As Melissa Glass, the plaintiffs’ attorney, explained, advertising campaigns had been suspended, promotional activities halted, and ticket sales put on hold. Under these circumstances, holding the event was no longer realistic. Mayweather had already traveled to Greece and, in recent days, had been promoting the exhibition match alongside Mike Zambidis. Numerous press and promotional events had already taken place before the cancellation was officially confirmed.
Shortly afterward, the organizers posted a message on their social media accounts, raising hopes for a new date. “Some fights deserve to wait a little longer so that their story can be told properly,” a brief statement said. Whether and when the exhibition match will be rescheduled now depends on how the legal proceedings in the U.S. unfold. According to the organizers, the remaining fights on the card are scheduled to take place as planned.
For Mayweather, this is yet another piece of bad news. The former world champion is currently facing several legal disputes, which have already made numerous headlines recently.
Text by Robin Josten