The Real Estate Punch Floyd Mayweather Never Saw

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]He spent a career undefeated. 50 fights, 50 wins, 27 by knockout. The whole aura was built on one idea. You just can't touch the guy. But now Floyd Mayweather has filed an explosive lawsuit alleging that for nearly a decade, he never saw the punches coming. This is the promote from 1031 media. I'm Hitansi. Let's break down today one of the craziest CR scandals we've ever seen. Mayweather's disastrous association with the notorious Jonah Reknitz.

[00:00:38]It's 2017. Floyd Mayweather is one of the richest athletes alive. He's coming off the McGregor fight from which he earned north of $200 million apparently.

[00:00:47]Around this time, he meets a guy called Jonah Reknitz. Now, if you listen to the Promote podcast, that name will be familiar. Reknit is what we call a netherworld character. The hustler with the unbelievable rolodex and the fuzzy origin story. The guy who always seems to be 3 ft away from controversy, fraud allegations, bribery allegations, theft, intimidation, the whole nine yards. In 2016, he pleaded guilty to honest services wire fraud. He cooperated against NYPD officials in one of the biggest police corruption cases of the modern era. And in 2020, an LA judge entered a $17.7 million civil fraud judgment against him in a separate matter. Now, per Mayweather's lawsuit, the boxer was oblivious to all of this when he met him.

[00:01:34]For the next several years, Reknitz works his way in slowly. By 2023, he has become Mayweather's de facto investment manager, his real estate adviser, his banking liaison. He's directing which counterparties get paid and when. He's inside the staffing, the banking, even the private jet operations. He's basically the go-to for one of the world's most high-profile athletes. And Mayweather is allin. At a real estate forum last year, the boxer said this quote, >> "I trust Jonah, not just 10%, 20%, 100%."

[00:02:07]>> 100%. That's despite the federal plea, despite the LA judgment, despite a cartoonish number of red flags that anyone could have found in about 90 seconds of googling. But that trust is the asset. That's what gets monetized here. Cuz once you have it, you can start moving the money around.

[00:02:26]July 2024, Mayweather Promotions wires $7.5 million from a Wells Fargo account to a Chase account belonging to a Boca Raton LLC called Frist Apex Ventures.

[00:02:37]The wire is labeled quote 12 month investment. For the lawsuit, that's all it was, a label. No investment was made, no return paid, no documentation, no principal back. $7.5 million gone. 3 months later, October 2024, Mayweather closes a $16.5 million loan from Hanky Capital that's crossc collateralized against four of his properties. Of those proceeds, $2.5 million goes to Mayweather Promotions and $8.8 million, more than half of this is wired directly to that same LLC, First Apex. Now, what is Frist Apex? It's a Florida LLC managed by a guy named Ayal Frist, who builds himself the CEO of Mayweather's real estate arm, Vado Properties. For the complaint, it's the de facto depository for Mayweather's money, and Mayweather claims Reknitz had complete sway over the account. Now, why the convoluted structure? It's simple.

[00:03:33]Recknets has that big judgment against him in that LA case, so he can't hold the money himself. Somebody else has to hold it for him.

[00:03:42]Now, while the wires are flying out the back, the buzz is flying out the front.

[00:03:46]In fall 2024, news breaks that Mayweather is buying a $400 million plus 10,000 apartment upper Manhattan portfolio from Black Spruce's Josh Godly. Now, this is splashy, industrydefining. Overnight, the boxer becomes one of the biggest celebrity buyers in New York real estate. The way that the story got into the ecosystem is itself part of the story. The headlines weren't built on documents that anyone could verify. They were built on scoops fed to one publication, the real deal, by sources in the deal. Now, if you trust the source, you run the story. But Business Insiders Dan Guyger poked serious holes in that story in March 2025. Mayweather's account doubled down, though in TRD. Now, according to the lawsuit, at least, we learn what VA properties Mayweather's entity actually acquired. It's not a 1,00 unit portfolio and it's not for $42 million. It's a 5% interest in an LLC for $31.5 million.

[00:04:43]Now, that's not buying a Manhattan portfolio. That's a slice of a structured deal. The news story said one thing, the paperwork says another, and that gap is at the heart of this case.

[00:04:55]Now, once the cash diversions start working, the alleged scheme grows. A Nevada LLC called 9504 Kingsgate Court gets formed in March 2025. Singlepurpose manager a New York attorney named Alexander Celixson who Mayweather has never met apparently. 16 days later, the property refies, $2.1 million in proceeds that should have gone to Mayweather goes to First Apex. Per the complaint, Celixen later admits to Mayweather that he routed the money at Reknit's direction. Then there's a $15 million settlement involving New York mega landlord SL Green realy that allegedly belonged to Mayweather. Per the complaint, Celixen admitted that he sent that money too to First Apex. And it's not just cash. In summer 2025, Raknitz allegedly pledges roughly $100 million worth of Mayweather's jewelry to two Miami dealers. One's Joel Vgo Marrio, the other is a guy only known as Moti in exchange for $13 million in payments. Mayweather says he never saw a penny of that money. And in November 2025, this one kills me. Mayweather signs an FAA bill of sale for his Gulfream G4. The buyer's name is left blank. Consideration listed, $1 and other valuable consideration. He doesn't know who owns his own plane. The proceeds per the complaint went to a quote Bugatti related obligation and to First Apex.

[00:06:24]Here is where the screws turn. At some point, Joel, the Miami Jeweler, pulls Mayweather and Reknitz into a WhatsApp group chat. Joel writes, "If I do not receive a large payment on money's due, I will start to liquidate the merchandise." Reknit's reply in full.

[00:06:40]Agreed, THX. two words. The green light on liquidating hund00 million worth of someone else's jewelry. Answered like someone's just confirming a coffee order. Mayweather replies to the thread, "Very bad business all around the board.

[00:06:54]I fought from a kid to get everything I own, and it's sad that someone would even put me in this situation." A few months later, on January 1st, 2026, Recknit sends an email to two people at Black Spruce. It says, "Send 20% of every distribution to First Apex. The usual account of Chase you've been sending all distribution to per my direction. The usual account per my direction. This past Saturday, Mayweather posted on Instagram, "A liar, a thief, a rat, and a snake. Jonah Reknitz is the worst person to ever walk this planet. Mayweather's asking for $175 million in damages, plus punitives, plus a full accounting of where every dollar went." Now, this is a critical caveat. This is a lawsuit. These are allegations. Ref and the other defendants named haven't responded yet and they have the right to. The facts will come out in due time or they won't.

[00:07:47]But the broader story here is as old as professional sport. An elite athlete allegedly hoodwinkedked by the people closest to him. Floyd Mayweather built an entire career on never getting hit.

[00:07:58]According to his own complaint though, he never saw any of this coming. Hope you enjoy this breakdown from the promote. If you did, please smash that subscribe button and let your friends in CR in diamonds wherever know about this.

[00:08:10]I think they'll love it. Also, check out thepromote.com and the promote podcast for the best CR insider content. Thank you so much and we'll see you next time.