Yaya Mayweather Ordered to Pay $50 Million in 2020 Stabbing Case

Iyanna “Yaya” Mayweather has been ordered to pay Lapattra Jacobs $50,105,000 over a 2020 stabbing stemming from a dispute involving rapper NBA YoungBoy, with whom Mayweather shares 5-year-old Kentrell Gaulden Jr.

The May 20 final judgment awarded Jacobs $40,105,000 in compensatory damages and another $10 million in exemplary damages. Mayweather, daughter of boxing legend Floyd Mayweather Jr., did not attend the trial.

The court found that Mayweather intentionally or knowingly assaulted Jacobs in conduct that rose to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. It also determined that Jacobs acted in self-defense, assigning 100 percent responsibility to Mayweather and none to Jacobs.

The compensatory award included $105,000 for past medical expenses. Jacobs also received $2 million in each of four past-damage categories: pain and mental anguish, physical impairment, lost earning capacity and disfigurement. Approximately $32 million covered projected future harm in those categories.

“It’s not a figure someone pulls out of thin air,” said Brian C. Stewart, a litigation attorney at Parker & McConkie, Personal Injury Lawyers, who is not involved in the case.

“You add up the medical bills already paid, then separate amounts for pain, physical impairment, and lost earning capacity, covering both what already happened and what doctors and economists project for the rest of her life,” Stewart explained. “Add it all up and it looks massive in a headline, but it's really just math on one person's ruined health.”

Stewart said the additional $10 million represents punitive damages, known as exemplary damages in Texas, which are “meant to punish and send a message” rather than compensate Jacobs for losses.

“Texas normally caps these, but the cap doesn't apply when the conduct ties to a felony conviction like aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” he noted.

Mayweather pleaded guilty to that charge in 2022 and received six years of probation under deferred adjudication.

“Winning the judgment and actually getting paid are two different things,” Stewart pointed out.

If Mayweather appeals, she would likely need to post a bond to delay payment during the process.

“Without an appeal, the next move is collection: liens on property, digging into bank accounts and income, garnishment where it's allowed,” Stewart said.

“Big judgments like this rarely get paid in full or fast. A lot of them end up settled for less years later, once it's clear what someone actually has,” he added.

“Fame can cut both ways here,” he said. “People are less sympathetic, not more, when the person in the defendant's chair is someone they've heard of.”