Mayweather Jr. faces lawsuit for stopping payments on car

Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. is being sued by a bank in Las Vegas for more than $167,000 unpaid on a loan for a half-million-dollar luxury car.

Caleb Langsdale, a lawyer for JP Morgan Chase Bank, said in a lawsuit filed last week in Clark County District Court that the former five-division boxing champion bought the Mercedes Maybach 57S in February 2007 and stopped making monthly payments of more than $9,000 a year later.

The bank repossessed the vehicle in January, sold it for $196,000 and is seeking to recoup the difference, the lawsuit said.

A lawyer for Mayweather did not immediately respond Monday to a message seeking comment from The Associated Press. A representative for Mayweather said the boxer and his manager were not available.

Mayweather was in Los Angeles for an open workout to promote his comeback fight on Saturday against Juan Manuel Marquez at the MGM Grand Garden.

Langsdale declined to comment beyond what was in the lawsuit but said it was straightforward and needed to be served before a hearing would be set.

Mayweather borrowed more than $415,000 at 16 percent annual interest to buy the $528,000 sedan, according to a copy of the contract attached to the lawsuit.

A letter to Mayweather said he owed $363,000 when the car was repossessed, court documents said.

The lawsuit adds another entry on a list of debts attributed to the boxer nicknamed “Money.” County records in Las Vegas show Mayweather has one unresolved lien with the Internal Revenue Service for $6.17 million in unpaid taxes from 2007. Other records show homeowners associations, the state of New Jersey and a trash collector have also claimed Mayweather did not pay bills.

Mayweather, returning to the ring after retiring last year, has said his upcoming fight is not about a big payday. His manager, Leonard Ellerbe, has disputed the documents and said he believes the public records to be inaccurate.

“I got a good relationship with the IRS; they ain’t took nothing away from me,” Mayweather said in a recent episode of HBO’s Mayweather/Marquez 24/7, which is documenting the fighters as they prepare for Saturday’s match.

During the same episode, Mayweather roller-skated through a new mansion and directly addressed the camera about his luxury lifestyle.

“We got the big boy mansion, we got Lambos, we got Rolls-Royces, we got a lot of stuff, but guess what? The difference between me and everybody else — my (stuff) is paid for, what about yours?” he said.