Floyd Mayweather Jr. sued for defamation by former girlfriend

Less than a week after the so-called “Fight of the Century,” the bout’s protagonists are facing a new challenge -- lawsuits.

On the same day two lawsuits seeking class-action status were filed against Manny Pacquiao claiming he defrauded fans by failing to disclose a shoulder injury, another lawsuit was filed against Floyd Mayweather Jr.

Mayweather, who defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision in a welterweight title bout in Las Vegas on Saturday, is being sued by his former girlfriend for defamation, according to multiple sources. In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Josie Harris claims Mayweather defamed her by describing her unfairly as a drug abuser during an interview with Yahoo’s Katie Couric in April.

Harris claims she has suffered humiliation and emotional and physical distress as a result of Mayweather’s statements, and is seeking more than $20 million in damages.

Mayweather pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge in 2011 after prosecutors said he beat Harris during a September 2010 incident at his Las Vegas home. Mayweather was sentenced to 90 days in jail, but was released after two months.

During his interview with Couric, Mayweather said he was simply trying to “restrain” Harris, who he claimed was on drugs at the time of the incident.

“Did I kick, stomp and beat someone? No, that didn’t happen,” Mayweather said. “Did I restrain a woman that was on drugs? Yes, I did. So if they say that’s domestic violence, then, you know what? I’m guilty. I’m guilty of restraining someone.”

The suit describes Mayweather’s description of the events as “totally and unequivocally false.” It claims Mayweather characterizes Harris as a liar “when she told the police that Mayweather repeatedly struck and beat her.”

“Harris was not a drug abuser or drug addict. Harris did not need to be ‘restrained’ because she was on drugs,” the suit states.

It goes on to read that Harris, an aspiring television personality and author, “would become unemployable and unpublishable if potential employers or publishers believe that she is, or even might be, a drug abuser or addict, as Mayweather implies in the interview.”