Top Rank filed a lawsuit against Al Haymon, Haymon Boxing LLC, Haymon Sports LLC, Haymon Holdings LLC, Waddell & Reed Financial Inc. and Media Group Holdings LLC. The lawsuit alleges violations of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, the Sherman Antitrust Act, and a host of other state and federal laws.
Allegations against Haymon and his affiliated entities include:
Inducing professional boxers to enter unlawful “tie out” agreements, which prevent the boxers (whose interests Haymon purports to represent) from freely contracting with legitimate promoters.
Illegally acting as both a manager and a promoter; fraudulently operating in the promotion business through a network of “sham” promoters.
Blocking legitimate promoters’ access to major venues through fraud, overbooking, and other unlawful means.
Engaging in a new form of “payola” to prevent legitimate promoters from access to television broadcasters through exclusive dealing, overbooking, and other unlawful means.
The lawsuit is seeking damages in the sum of $100 million (and that such damages be trebled, pursuant to Title 15 of the U.S. Code).
Top Rank is also seeking an injunction, permanently and pending final judgment in the case, precluding Haymon and the defendants from having any direct or indirect financial interest in the promotion of bouts featuring boxers they manage, from acting as both boxing managers and promoters, from presenting boxing matches on television featuring such boxers, or from arranging the arenas, sponsors and/or television broadcasts of boxing matches featuring boxers they manage, from directing or otherwise causing boxers not to sign written contracts with Top Rank or other promoters, from attempting, in any way, to prevent Top Rank from obtaining venues or other essential facilities for the boxing matches Top Rank promotes, from attempting in any other way to monopolize the business of promoting championship-caliber boxers in the United States.
No direct response from Al Haymon, but the Premier Boxing Champions website has released a statement from Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel, the law firm representing Haymon and his affiliated entities:
On behalf of our clients Alan Haymon, Haymon Boxing LLC, Haymon Sports LLC and Haymon Holdings LLC:
The lawsuit filed today by Bob Arum and Top Rank is entirely without merit and is a cynical attempt by boxing’s old guard to use the courts to undermine the accessibility, credibility and exposure of boxing that the sport so desperately needs.
The Premier Boxing Champions series makes boxing free again, by bringing championship boxing to free TV, with a fighter-first promise and a commitment to the fans to restore boxing to the luster of its heyday. The continued success of this effort will far outlast this baseless lawsuit.
Article Courtesy of Fightnews