It’s looking like mo’ money, mo’ problems for his Diddyness as the man he allegedly punched in the face over the weekend said yesterday that their legal fight is definitely on.
Steven Acevedo, 31, told The Post that reports that he and Sean “Diddy” Combs had made up after meeting at the club Butter following their violent scuffle were not true and the gloves are still off.
“Definitely not,” he said outside his Manhattan apartment, before slowly drawing his finger across his throat in a menacing gesture directed at the hip-hop mogul, who is a longtime acquaintance.
But at the same time, Combs skipped a scheduled meeting with detectives at the 1st Precinct station house yesterday afternoon, and his powerhouse attorney, Benjamin Brafman, put out a statement saying Diddy was not going to be arrested.
“We are hopeful this matter will be resolved without the filing of any criminal charges as this was a disagreement among acquaintances, not a criminal assault,” he said.
He declined further comment.
Meanwhile, prosecutors and detectives met yesterday to discuss how to proceed.
Combs and Acevedo allegedly got involved in a heated exchange around 3:30 a.m. Saturday – not at Kiosk as originally reported, but upstairs at the super swank and exclusive nightspot Upstairs
The two separated but began jawing at each other again, and Combs allegedly screamed, “I’ll kill you, punk!” and popped Acevedo twice in the face, bloodying his nose and giving him a fat lip.
Acevedo, who works in the clothing business, told police he then saw one of Diddy’s bodyguards lift his shirt as if to signal he had a gun. Acevedo then left and filed a police report.
Sources say the two men have known each other from the hip-hop club scene for at least 13 years. Police sources say the dispute was over a woman – a comely blonde that Diddy escorted to the Cannes Film Festival last summer and that Acevedo had dated.
Other sources said the fight stemmed from another issue, but did not know what it was.
After the blinged-out battle royal, Diddy called Acevedo and tried to work things out but failed, angering Acevedo even more, a source said. The pair then met at Butter Tuesday night to further try and patch things up, but again could not settle things.
It’s not the first legal wrangle Diddy has found himself in stemming from violent nightclub episodes.
He was sued for $5 million just last week by a man who claims Combs’ goon squad roughed him up at a Manhattan club in June. In fact, a process server waited outside the 1st Precinct station house yesterday to serve Combs with papers if he had shown up.
His most infamous dust-up involved former gal pal Jennifer Lopez. Shots were fired as the two left a Midtown club, leaving three injured.
Combs was tried and acquitted in 2001. His protégé Jamal “Shyne” Barrow received 10 years for his role in the shooting.