U.S. District Judge John Walters in L.A. on Thursday "dismissed the lawsuit by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions claiming that rival manager Al Haymon had engaged in monopolistic practices with his Premier Boxing Champions operation," according to Lance Pugmire of the L.A. TIMES. Golden Boy sought more than $300M in the lawsuit, filed in '15, which "claimed Haymon sought to tie fighters up in extended exclusionary contracts with him while discouraging the boxers from promotional contracts." A similar lawsuit filed by veteran promoter Bob Arum’s Top Rank against Haymon "was settled last year." The Golden Boy lawsuit followed a settlement in early '15 in which several Haymon-managed fighters including Deontay Wilder, Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman and Leo Santa Cruz "split from Golden Boy." By fighting for Haymon, the boxers were "placed on several networks, including NBC, CBS and ESPN." Golden Boy additionally claimed Haymon, while assembling a 200-fighter stable, was "acting as both a boxing manager and promoter in violation of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, engaging in predatory pricing." Walters said that Golden Boy "produced successful cards as the lawsuit was pending, including the lucrative Canelo Alvarez-Amir Khan fight" in '16. The judge additionally found that "neither Fox nor ABC were precluded from broadcasting fights from other promoters despite their connections to PBC, and he noted Golden Boy and ESPN have entered into a new broadcast deal" (L.A. TIMES, 1/27). Walter also wrote of Haymon's "willingness to work with various promoters as a reason for dismissing the case." Walter cited Haymon's deal with Top Rank to "make the revenue record-breaking fight between Floyd Mayweather, whom he managed, and Manny Pacquiao" in '15, illustrating a "willingness to work with non-PBC promoters when it was in the best interest of his fighters and company" (ESPN.com, 1/26).
