A US judge has ruled that Zindzi Mandela, the daughter of Nelson Mandela, pay Los Angeles boxing adviser Duane Moody R62.1 million ($7.5m) in damages for breaching a contract which was to see champion boxers Floyd Mayweather jr and Manny Pacquiao fight in SA as part of her father’s 93rd birthday celebrations.
Judge Richard Niedorf handed down the default judgment in Moody’s favour on Monday after Mandela failed to file responding papers. A copy of the judgment, which The Mercury has seen, states that Mandela must pay $7.5m plus $433.50 in costs.
Moody claims in court papers that Mandela approached him in February to help secure one of the most anticipated events in boxing history – a bout between unbeaten World Boxing Council welterweight champion Mayweather jr and World Boxing Organisation welterweight champion Pacquiao, which was scheduled for Orlando Stadium, Soweto, in November.
It would have formed part of Mandela’s 93rd birthday celebrations and would have been announced at a press conference on his birthday on July 18.
Moody claims that negotiations with Mayweather jr fell through when Mandela did not come up with the cash to finance the event. He launched his lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court on April 15, claiming damages for breach of oral contract, promise without the intent to perform, and negligent misrepresentation.
He sued for the $7.5m he claims he was promised by Mandela. Moody’s lawyer, Jamie Keeton, declined to comment on how the judgment would be enforced.
Moody said he had had a good relationship with Mandela. “She approached me and asked me to help bring Mayweather junior to SA to fight Manny Pacquiao as a birthday present for Mr. Mandela.”
Contacted for comment, Mandela said questions should be referred to her US representative, VisionQwest CEO Michael Lodge, who said Moody had not been involved in the talks with Mayweather jr or Pacquiao at any stage. VisionQwest Resource Group Inc and SA company Mohlaleng Media had conducted the negotiations, with Mandela acting as consultant to Mohlaleng.
“I have never met this individual (Moody), nor does he have any legal agreements with either company regarding Mayweather vs Pacquiao proposed bouts. All proposals and agreements had to go through our two firms; our firms were the decision makers.”
However, Moody said he had an oral agreement with Mandela to get 15 percent ($7.5m) of the estimated $50m to be paid to Mayweather jr. He had set up meetings with Mayweather sr and then with Mayweather jr in Las Vegas in February and March.
“Mayweather jr was excited about the fight and about bringing his family to meet Nelson Mandela. He had not known Mandela had been an amateur fighter. We started off with a $20m purse per fighter and said they would get a percentage of the pay-per-view and other revenues. And then it was to be a purse of $50m per fighter. Zindzi assured me she had the money in place,” said Moody.
He claims the negotiations unravelled after he learnt that Mandela did not have the money to finance the fight. He had sued because the failed negotiations had damaged his reputation.
“It messed up my credibility with the Mayweathers and it affected my ability to do business in the entertainment industry,” he said.
“I brought the case against Mandela because she was the person I was dealing with; my agreement was with her.”
Lodge said Mandela was aware of the default judgment and the matter was being handled by her legal team.
“We need to put this issue to bed and respond through the correct legal avenue and resolve the issue for Mandela. She was not in a position to make agreements on behalf of Mohlaleng or VisionQwest.
“Mandela has a solid legal response and we stand behind her on this case. We have turned everything over to our corporate legal counsel.”
Lodge said Mandela had not initially responded to the lawsuit, which she had been aware of. “We were under the impression that Mohlaleng would cover the legal costs of the lawsuit since Ms Mandela was a consultant with that company when the Mayweather fight negotiations took place.
“However, Mohlaleng has not responded to our request for their involvement. Time went by quickly and there was not a timely response to the legal case from our office here in Los Angeles.”
Mohlaleng Media did not respond to questions sent to them. - The Mercury