TO FIGHT: Boxers Manny Pacquiao (left) and Juan Manuel Marquez (right) at a press conference in New York to promote their welterweight fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. — AFP photo
LAS VEGAS, Nevada, Sept 19, 2012 (AFP) – Boxer Floyd Mayweather has been ordered by a US judge to pay over 100,000 in legal costs after the American failed to answer questions from Manny Pacquiao’s lawyers in a defamation case.
American federal judge Larry Hicks awarded Pacquiao about 113,000 in legal fees for his lawyers and 774 in costs, because of “Mayweather’s obviously intentional decision not to appear for his court ordered deposition.”
Pacquiao filed a lawsuit three years ago in Las Vegas, saying that Mayweather defamed him by suggesting Pacquiao used performance-enhancing substances. The lawsuit seeks unspecific damages.
“Calling a professional athlete a cheater is the most serious charge one can make,” the lawsuit said. “Accusing an athlete of using performance-enhancing drugs – however baseless and lacking in evidence – is toxic.”
Filipino superstar Pacquiao and the undefeated Mayweather have never faced each other in the ring and the suit is viewed as one of the roadblocks to a much-anticipated mega fight. — AFP