LAWSUIT AGAINST MANDELA?S DAUGHTER BRANDED ?BOGUS?

Columns

Canelo Demands $100 Million for Crawford Rematch

By Dong Secuya

When fight figures cross into nine-digit guarantees, the conversation usually turns cynica…

The lawsuit filed by Duane Moody against the daughter of Nobel peace prize winner, the revered South African leader Nelson Mandela, Zindzi Mandela, has been branded as ?bogus? by the South African company that handled Zindi?s negotiations to stage a Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr fight to celebrate Mandela?s 93rd birthday in the township of Soweto.

Mandela?s representative from Mohlaleng Media brushed aside the claim and the default judgment of $7.5 million granted to boxing adviser Moody who had put Zindzi Mandela in touch with Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mandela also met with Pacquiao?s adviser Michael Koncz and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum just once at the Beverly Hills hotel according to Koncz.

Mohlaleng Media CEO Mbuso Thabethe was quoted by iafrica.com as saying ?Moody was trying to sue for something that did not happen saying that he had worked out some deal he was part of.?

Meantime, VisionQuest Resources Group Inc., of Glendale, California which for some time was involved in working on Pacquiao?s finances said they were working together with Mohlaleng Media in trying to organize the Pacquiao-Mayweather fight.

VisionQuest said Zindzi Mandela works as a consultant of Mohlaleng ?but has no legal ability to make deals for Mohlaleng. At no time did Moody approach VisionQuest regarding his representation as to being a fight promoter.?

However, VisionQuest conceded that while Moody approached Mohlaleng and said he had contact with Mayweather?s team ?at no time was Moody involved in any negotiations between the two companies or any of the fighters and their contracted promoters.?

VisionQuest in its statement said both companies ?began discussions with Pacquiao (represented by Top Rank) and Mayweather (represented by Jeff Mayweather and Al Haymon. No final agreement was reached around the financial arrangement and both parties amicably agreed to end discussions? even as it stressed that Moody ?was never involved in any of these discussions nor did he have a contractual relationship with any of the parties involved.?

Photo (L-R): Duane Moody, Mayweather Jr and Zindzi Mandela.