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July 08, 2015
HAYMON: GOLDEN BOY CAN'T SUE ME; I HAVE A RELEASE!
By Scott Shaffer
Boxing's most powerful manager/advisor, Al Haymon, issued his first response to a $300 million lawsuit by Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions. Haymon claims that Golden Boy gave him a release of all claims last year and therefore no longer has a valid case. Haymon told the California federal court that an arbitrator is poised to decide whether the release covers the current dispute, so the court should stay the litigation until the arbitrator rules. Golden Boy apparently issued the release to Haymon and his companies as part of a deal reached after the departure of Richard Schaefer from Golden Boy. Schaefer ran Golden Boy for years along with De La Hoya. The Schaefer settlement agreement, to which Haymon was a party, contains an arbitration clause, and Haymon brought the latest issue before the arbitrator in April. Golden Boy filed suit in May. The arbitrator, according to Haymon's court filing, will hold a hearing on July 29th to determine whether the release bars Golden Boy's current claims.
Haymon's court filings included a copy of the release, but it was heavily redacted with only a few paragraphs left legible. Golden Boy is known to have accepted a multi-million dollar payment in order to release certain claims against Schaefer and Haymon, and Haymon's filing shows that Golden Boy released him from all claims "through the date of execution of this Agreement, including but not limited to any of the matters alleged in the [2014] arbitration filed by Golden Boy." The date of the Agreement is December 19, 2014.
In May, Haymon, his boxing-related companies and an investment firm backing Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions venture were all named in GOlden Boy's $300 million federal lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Haymon and his companies violated antitrust laws and the Muhammad Ali Act. Bernard Hopkins, a Golden Boy partner, is also listed as a plaintiff.
The case was filed in Los Angeles and assigned to Judge Dean D. Pregerson. On July 6th, as described above, Haymon asked Judge Pregerson to delay the case while an arbitrator decides if Golden Boy has any claim at all.
On July 1st, the other major American boxing promoter, Top Rank, Inc. sued the same Haymon-related entities also alleging violations of the Ali Act, antitrust law and California's unfair competition act. Top Rank is headed by Bob Arum, who has a deep, personal rivalry with Haymon dating back to when Haymon bought out Floyd Mayweather's contract from Top Rank.
Top Rank's lawsuit alleges that "Haymon is rigging the boxing industry so they can act as manager, promoter, sponsor and ticket broker for nearly every major professional boxer competing in the United States, all in violation of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, the Sherman Act and a host of other state and federal laws." It is unlikely that Top Rank issued any kind of a release to Haymon that could apply to Top Rank's lawsuit.
The Muhammad Ali Act generally forbids a person from acting as both a manager and a promoter. However, it was enacted to protect boxers against promoters, not to protect promoters from promoters.
But there is more to both lawsuits than Muhammad Ali Act claims. The Sherman Act is an antitrust statute. Top Rank's suit further complains that, "In order to stifle legitimate promoters from competing against [Haymon's company, Premiere Boxing Champions] has obtained exclusivity commitments from broadcasters" that keep his competitors off the airwaves." Thus far, Haymon has concluded time-buying deals-- where the networks get paid to air fights rather than the traditional arrangement of having the networks pay the promoters to produce the fights-- with NBC, CBS, ESPN, Spike, Bounce and most recently, Fox.
Shortly after the Top Rank suit was filed, the law firm hired by Haymon, Kramer Levin Naftalis and Frankel, issued the following statement, and published it on the website of Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions: "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."
Just before the Golden Boy suit was filed, the Association of Boxing Commissioners asked the United States Attorney General to investigate Haymon's practices. The Attorney General has not issued a public response.
