If a recent lawsuit filled in California is to be believed, a Beverly Hills waiter was the bridge that brought the two sides of the Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao megafight together.
No seriously, according to information obtained by TMZ, a waiter is actually looking to a get a 2 percent cut of the megafight that happened between Mayweather and Pacquiao as a “finders fee” for putting CBS head Les Moonves and Pacquiao trainer Fred Roach in the same place.
Gabriel Salvador says he was a waiter at West Hollywood hot spot Craig’s when regular customer and CBS honcho Les Moonves came in for a meal. Salvador, an avid boxing fan, says he told Moonves he could set up a meeting with Manny Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach — which, he thought, would be the first domino in making the fight happen.
According to docs obtained by TMZ Sports … Salvador eventually got all 3 men together at Scarpetta in Bev Hills in May 2014. For setting up the sit down, Salvador says he told all parties he wanted a “customary finder’s fee” of 2% of gross proceeds earned by Pacquiao, Roach and CBS/Showtime from the fight.
Something clearly did happen, as Salvador did receive tickets to the fight, hotel accommodations and a $10,000 check for expenses for that fight night. However, CBS is telling TMZ that Salvador had zero to do with setting up the fight and the network even made Salvador go after Roach and the Pacquiao camp if he wanted any more than he got in the first place, claiming they made no money off the fight.
If true, it is estimated that 2 percent of the earning from Pacquiao’s side of the fight would come out to roughly $8.2 million and it certainly would mean no more waiting tables for Salvador.
Only in Los Angeles can a waiter/starving actor be believed as the lynchpin behind setting up the biggest prize fight of the 21st century. Whether he wins his lawsuit and claims nearly $8 million remains to be seen, but stranger things have certainly happened in the world of professional boxing.
