Top Rank on Wednesday "announced a legal fistfight to test" boxing manager Al Haymon’s "Premier Boxing Champions" operation, according to Lance Pugmire of the L.A. TIMES. Top Rank attorneys are seeking more than $100M in damages and an "injunction to stop Haymon’s 'predatory practices' in a 50-page lawsuit" filed in U.S. District Court in L.A. The lawsuit claims that Haymon has "taken to thumb his nose at the mandated separation between manager and promoter with his PBC model." The lawsuit reads in part, "In order to stifle legitimate promoters from competing against PBC, Haymon has obtained exclusivity commitments from broadcasters. Between these predatory ‘payola’ payments and the expenses of promoting each televised match, Haymon and [investment firm] Waddell & Reed are operating at a significant short-term loss in the millions of dollars.” It continues, "This ‘loss leader’ strategy … has allowed Haymon to gain unfair advantage in the promoter market to the severe detriment of legitimate competitors like Top Rank." Pugmire noted Top Rank’s lawsuit "follows similar claims made by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions in a May lawsuit against Haymon." Top Rank also "takes issue with Haymon’s attempts to block venues," such as AEG-owned Staples Center and StubHub Center, "from other promoters while also preventing PBC fighters from matches against Top Rank boxers." Haymon and Top Rank Chair Bob Arum "have been longtime adversaries" dating back to Floyd Mayweather Jr.'s '06 departure from Top Rank (LATIMES.com, 7/1). PBC in a statement said, "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" (THE DAILY).
PUNCHER'S CHANCE? In Las Vegas, Steve Carp notes the suit claims Haymon has "simultaneously managed boxers and promoted fights in direct violation of the Ali Act, which became a law" in '00 to protect fighters from such practices. The suit also claims that Haymon "forbade fighters under contract to him from being promoted by Top Rank and other promoters, preventing them from having access to major venues and blocking them from TV opportunities." De La Hoya "supported Top Rank's decision" to file the lawsuit (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 7/2). In DC, Rick Maese notes Arum is the "third major promoter to sue Haymon in the past year" (WASHINGTON POST, 7/2).
