One Month After A Report Raised Questions About Floyd Mayweather's Finances, The Boxer Files A $340 Million Lawsuit Against Showtime

Floyd Mayweather Jr. just filed a sweeping new lawsuit against Showtime Networks and former Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza, alleging that hundreds of millions of dollars from his fight earnings were misappropriated through what the complaint describes as a long-running scheme of financial fraud.

The lawsuit, filed this week in California state court, seeks at least $340 million in damages and accuses Showtime of aiding and abetting breaches of fiduciary duty, fraud, conversion, civil conspiracy, and unjust enrichment. Mayweather claims that money owed to him from some of the most lucrative fights in boxing history was diverted into accounts he did not control and that a significant portion of his career earnings is now "missing and unaccounted for."

According to the complaint, Mayweather alleges that Showtime knowingly wired fight proceeds to accounts controlled by his longtime adviser and manager, Al Haymon, rather than directly to Mayweather or accounts under his exclusive control. Although Haymon is repeatedly identified in the lawsuit as the central figure in the alleged scheme, he is not named as a defendant in the filing. Instead, the suit focuses on Showtime and Espinoza's alleged role in facilitating and concealing the alleged misconduct.

Mayweather claims that under an oral agreement dating back to 2005, Haymon was entitled to a 10% management fee, an arrangement that formally expired after one year but allegedly continued for more than a decade. During that time, Haymon is accused of exercising sweeping control over Mayweather's business affairs, including television contracts, sponsorships, and financial distributions. The lawsuit alleges that tens of millions of dollars were transferred to entities controlled by Haymon, often labeled as "repayments," "loan payoffs," or vague "expenses," with little transparency provided to Mayweather.

The complaint further alleges that when Mayweather's new management team requested detailed accounting records in 2024 related to major bouts, Showtime failed to produce them. In one particularly striking allegation, Mayweather claims he was told that certain financial records tied to his biggest fights were "lost due to a flood" or stored off-site and inaccessible. Showtime allegedly later asserted that any claims related to fights that occurred in 2015 were barred by the statute of limitations, a defense that Mayweather's legal team disputes.

Among the bouts referenced in the lawsuit are several of the most lucrative pay-per-view events ever staged, including fights against Robert Guerrero, Canelo Álvarez, Marcos Maidana, Manny Pacquiao, Andre Berto, and Conor McGregor. Mayweather alleges that discrepancies exist between reported revenues, expense reimbursements, and the amounts he ultimately received, including a claim that Showtime still owes him $20 million related to the 2015 Andre Berto fight.

Mayweather's attorney, Bobby Samini, said in a statement that his client generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for Showtime and is now seeking to recover money he believes was wrongfully diverted. Showtime's parent company, Paramount, has flatly denied the allegations, calling them "baseless" and stating that it will respond through the court process.

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How Al Haymon And Showtime Fit Into The Dispute

The lawsuit places particular emphasis on the unusual financial structure of Mayweather's Showtime era, which began in 2013 after he left HBO to sign what was then the richest television deal in boxing history. Under that agreement, Showtime broadcast Mayweather's biggest fights, including the record-setting bouts against Manny Pacquiao in 2015 and Conor McGregor in 2017.

Mayweather alleges that rather than functioning as a neutral broadcaster, Showtime and Espinoza effectively acted as conduits for Haymon by sending money owed to Mayweather into accounts Haymon controlled. The lawsuit claims this arrangement allowed funds to be diverted without Mayweather's knowledge, while limiting his access to full and accurate financial information about his own fights.

Funny Timing

Today's lawsuit comes just one month after Business Insider published a deeply reported investigation that scrutinized Floyd Mayweather's financial life after boxing and challenged the long-standing image of "Money Mayweather" as a debt-free, cash-only billionaire. That report relied on public records, loan filings, lawsuits, and interviews with current and former associates to document a pattern of heavy borrowing, disputed business claims, foreclosures, liens, and asset sales that, taken together, suggested far more financial strain and complexity than Mayweather has ever publicly acknowledged.

Among the specific allegations detailed by Business Insider were that Mayweather borrowed roughly $54 million at around 9% interest from specialty lender Don Hankey using a cross-collateralized structure tied to 14 residential properties, a Las Vegas strip club, and his private jet; that at least two commercial properties were foreclosed within an 18-month period; that various liens and lawsuits were filed over allegedly unpaid bills ranging from six-figure jet fuel and aircraft maintenance costs to smaller municipal fees; and that Mayweather ultimately sold his $60 million Gulfstream G650 after it had been pledged as collateral. The report also highlighted disputes over luxury purchases, including a lawsuit involving a $1.2 million Mercedes-Maybach G-Wagon, as well as the sale of high-profile homes in Las Vegas, Beverly Hills, and Miami.

Importantly, Business Insider did not claim that Mayweather never earned his money or that he was insolvent. Instead, the reporting focused on how his fortune appears to have been managed since retiring in 2017, emphasizing liquidity pressures, leverage, and governance issues rather than outright bankruptcy.

Mayweather has forcefully disputed that portrayal and is actually suing both Business Insider and one of its reporters for defamation over earlier real estate coverage.

In response to Business Insider's reporting, Mayweather's attorney, Bobby Samini, pushed back strongly against the overall narrative, denying that Mayweather is "experiencing financial strain."  Samini provided the following statement to BI:

"Floyd Mayweather rose from poverty and hardship to become one of the greatest champions in boxing history, transforming his talent and discipline into an undefeated legacy and a highly successful business empire. Creating unfounded narratives misrepresents the truth and minimizes the achievements of an individual who has risen from adversity to become one of the most successful athletes and entrepreneurs of his generation."

Against that backdrop, the newly filed Showtime lawsuit introduces a potentially consequential alternative explanation: Perhaps some of the financial stress described in the previous reporting may stem, at least in part, from money Mayweather now alleges was improperly diverted during the most lucrative years of his career. But honestly, we don't know anything. This is all speculation. Hopefully, future legal filings will shed more light on Floyd's financial situation.