EXCLUSIVE

Floyd Mayweather Gets Butt Kicked In Court ... Over Katie Couric Interview

Floyd Mayweather just got ripped a new one in appeals court -- with a panel of judges saying there's a ton of evidence showing the boxer lied to Katie Couric in a '15 interview about his domestic violence case.

Remember, Floyd's ex, Josie Harris, is suing Floyd for defamation ... claiming the boxer fudged the facts and lied about her to Couric when discussing his 2010 domestic violence arrest.

In the interview, Floyd told Couric he did NOT "kick, stomp and beat someone" ... and explained, "Did I restrain a woman that was on drugs? Yes, I did."

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Floyd was convicted in that case ... after her son told cops he saw Mayweather "hitting and kicking her." An emergency room doctor also noted Harris had multiple contusions to the head, face and left forearm.

Floyd had filed court docs to get Josie's lawsuit thrown out -- but, a California appeals court just ruled her defamation case CAN move forward because the evidence appears to be in her favor. Here's the opinion from one of the judges on the panel ...

"Since this evidence is unequivocally at odds with the assertion that Mayweather was simply restraining a drug-addled Harris by only twisting her arm, it may reasonably be inferred that Mayweather acted with malice or reckless disregard of the truth during the Couric interview."

Long story short ... Josie now has the green light to move forward with her case -- and it could cost Floyd a LOT of money.

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