Six years ago, Floyd Mayweather’s daughter Iyanna “Yaya” Mayweather got into a confrontation with another woman at NBA YoungBoy’s house in Texas. The altercation ended with the other woman suffering serious stab wounds. Yaya was arrested, and eventually she pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The criminal case spared Yaya from prison, but O.J. Simpson-style, the civil case has turned out very differently. A Texas judge just ordered Yaya Mayweather to pay $50.105 million to Lapattra Jacobs, the woman she stabbed during that April 2020 confrontation.
The award consists of $40.105 million in compensatory damages and another $10 million in exemplary damages, the Texas equivalent of punitive damages, plus applicable interest and court costs.
What Happened At NBA YoungBoy’s House?
The incident occurred in April 2020 at NBA YoungBoy’s home in the Houston-area community of Cypress, Texas. The rapper, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden, was romantically involved with Yaya at the time.
Yaya arrived at the house and encountered Lapattra Jacobs, who had also been involved with YoungBoy and is the mother of one of his children. According to authorities, the two women began arguing, and the confrontation eventually moved into the kitchen.
Police said Yaya armed herself with two knives and attacked Jacobs. Jacobs suffered severe lacerations to her arm and was found bleeding on the floor when authorities arrived. She was transported to a hospital and underwent surgery for her injuries.
NBA YoungBoy was at the house during the incident. Police briefly handcuffed him at the scene, apparently as a precaution, before releasing him. He was not charged in connection with the stabbing.
Yaya was arrested and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Yaya and NBA YoungBoy later had a son together, Kentrell Gaulden Jr.
Yaya Mayweather (via Getty)
Yaya Pleaded Guilty
In 2022, Yaya pleaded guilty to felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. She avoided prison and received six years of probation under a deferred-adjudication agreement.
The plea resolved the criminal case, but Jacobs had also filed a civil lawsuit seeking damages for the injuries she suffered in the attack. She alleged that the stabbing left her with severe and permanent injuries, including a permanent loss of function in her arm.
NBA YoungBoy was originally named as a defendant in the civil lawsuit as well, but the claims against him did not ultimately proceed to trial. The massive judgment that resulted from the case is against Yaya alone.
How The Damages Reached $50.1 Million
The court awarded Jacobs $40.105 million in compensatory damages, including more than $8 million for losses she had already suffered by the time of trial.
The past damages consisted of:
- $105,000 in medical expenses
- $2 million for physical pain and mental anguish
- $2 million for physical impairment
- $2 million for loss of earning capacity
- $2 million for disfigurement
Those awards brought the total for past damages to $8.105 million. The court then awarded approximately $32 million for future damages in many of the same categories, reflecting the long-term consequences of Jacobs’ injuries.
On top of the compensatory damages, the judge awarded another $10 million in exemplary damages. The court found that Yaya’s actions were intentional and involved an extreme degree of risk, and that the assault involved the use of a deadly weapon.
The resulting judgment totals $50,105,000 before applicable interest and court costs.
The Court Put 100% Of The Responsibility On Yaya
There was little ambiguity in the court’s determination of responsibility. The judge assigned 100% of the responsibility to Yaya Mayweather and 0% to Jacobs.
The court found that Yaya intentionally or knowingly assaulted Jacobs with a deadly weapon. It also found that Jacobs had acted in self-defense, meaning her recovery was not reduced on the theory that she shared responsibility for the confrontation.
Yaya reportedly did not appear at the civil trial.
The result is an extraordinary financial liability for a woman who was just 19 years old when the stabbing occurred and whose public profile has largely stemmed from her famous father and her relationship with NBA YoungBoy.
Does Floyd Mayweather Have To Pay His Daughter’s $50 Million Judgment?
Long story short. No.
The judgment is against Iyanna Mayweather, not Floyd. Yaya was an adult when the stabbing occurred, and there is nothing in the reported court ruling that makes Floyd personally responsible for satisfying his daughter’s civil judgment.
But the timing could not be worse for the Mayweather family financial empire.
Floyd Mayweather earned more than $1.2 billion during his boxing career, including enormous paydays for fights against Manny Pacquiao and Conor McGregor. For years, he cultivated one of the most extravagant public images in sports, displaying private jets, mansions, exotic cars, watches, jewelry and huge stacks of cash.
At one point, CelebrityNetWorth estimated Floyd Mayweather’s net worth at $500 million. In recent years, however, a series of lawsuits, tax issues, and disputes over allegedly missing money have raised significant questions about how much of that fortune remains.
Floyd has alleged in litigation that hundreds of millions of dollars in boxing proceeds and investment funds were mishandled or misappropriated. In one case, he has claimed that at least $340 million in boxing earnings is missing or unaccounted for. In another, he has alleged that a former associate defrauded him of approximately $175 million through transactions involving real estate, private aircraft, and luxury goods.
Those developments ultimately caused CelebrityNetWorth to dramatically reduce its estimate of Floyd Mayweather’s fortune. We currently estimate his net worth at $50 million. And, frankly, until he lines up some major paydays or resolves some of these lawsuits, even that number might be way too high, in our opinion.
So, even if Floyd decided he wanted to make the problem disappear for his daughter, this would not be a routine family bailout. In our estimation, it would be his entire net worth PLUS another $105,000 before interest and court costs. And either way, let’s at least assume he’s covering her legal fees. That’s a, presumably very large, expense that Floyd would absolutely love to not be dealing with at the moment.
So, What Happens Next?
Winning a $50.1 million judgment and actually collecting $50.1 million are two very different things. If Yaya Mayweather does not have substantial assets in her own name, Jacobs may have difficulty recovering anywhere close to the full amount in the near term.
That possibility was raised years ago. In 2022, Yaya’s attorney, Kent Schaffer, remarked:
“We are not concerned about the civil lawsuit. Iyanna has no meaningful assets, so any judgment against her would be uncollectible.”
That does not mean the judgment disappears. Jacobs can use post-judgment discovery and other legal tools to identify bank accounts, investments, business interests, non-exempt property, and other assets Yaya may own now or acquire in the future. The judgment can also accrue interest, meaning the amount owed could continue growing if it remains unpaid.
Yaya could attempt to appeal the ruling and challenge some or all of the damages. An appeal would not automatically reduce the $50.1 million award, but an appellate court could affirm it, reduce portions of it, or send parts of the case back for further proceedings. Because Yaya reportedly did not appear at the trial, there may also be procedural avenues available to her that would not exist in a typical fully contested case.
Bankruptcy may not provide an easy escape either. Federal bankruptcy law generally prevents debts arising from “willful and malicious injury” from being discharged, and this judgment stems from an intentional stabbing for which Yaya previously pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The most practical outcome may ultimately be a negotiated settlement. Jacobs now holds an enormous judgment, but if Yaya has relatively few collectible assets, both sides could have an incentive to agree to a much smaller amount that can actually be paid.
And, of course, there is one person looming over all of this who could change the equation instantly: Floyd Mayweather. He has no legal obligation to pay his adult daughter’s judgment, but if Yaya truly lacks the assets to satisfy it, the question of whether Floyd chooses to step in could become the next chapter in an already extraordinary case.
