What a Knockout! Disgruntled Fans Suit Down for the Count

The May 2, 2015 match between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, promoted as the “Fight of the Century,” saw two of this generation’s most prominent figures in boxing go head-to-head for 12 rounds. However, many fans were less than pleased with the outcome of the fight after the Pacquiao camp’s post-fight revelation.

At the conclusion of the match, a “three-judge panel [unanimously] declared Mayweather the overall winner of the match,” the Ninth Circuit said. That same panel declared Pacquiao the “winner of between two …

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Showtime on the Ropes for Livestream Trouble During Mayweather-McGregor Fight

Showtime Networks is being sued by unhappy customers after it charged $99.99 to watch the Mayweather-McGregor fight in 1080p resolution, 60-frames-per-second, but then the livestream suffered numerous freezes and poor resolution. “Instead of being a ‘witness to history’ as defendant had promised, the only thing plaintiff witnessed was grainy video, error screens, buffer events, and stalls,” the complaint stated. The class action is alleging claims that Showtime willfully violated the Oregon Unlawful Trade Practices Act, and was unjustly enriched.

A Showtime executive countered that they …

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Inspector General’s Report Claims NY Boxing Agency Dysfunctional

On Monday July, 25, 2016, the New York State Inspector General’s Office released a report determining the boxing division of the New York State Athletic Commission has a history of being dysfunctional and unethical. According to the report — which spawned out of the investigation surrounding the handling of severe injuries suffered by heavyweight boxer Magomed Abdusalamov in November of 2013 — former senior level staff members of NYSAC promoted a culture of accepting gifts and rewarding friendlier constituents, while inadequately providing for the athletes …

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The Risks of Trying to be Half Man, Half MMAmazing

In Light of New York’s Legalization of Mixed Martial Arts, a Look at the Legal and Regulatory Risks Involved With Alternating Between a Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts Career.

On four occasions throughout 2013, colorful former welterweight and super welterweight boxing champion Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga had his name back in the combat sports headlines again following a two-year period of inactivity courtesy of an unsuccessful foray into the world of mixed martial arts (MMA), where he went 0-3 with one no contest. In doing …

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Al Haymon: Would an Exception Knock Out the Rule?

A Quick Look at the Possible Regulatory Implications of Victories for Al Haymon in His Lawsuits with Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions

Ask almost any boxer in the United States who the best manager in the sport is today, and most of them would inevitably say Al Haymon. Likewise, ask almost any boxer in the United States who the best promoter is in the sport today, and most of them would inevitably, erroneously or otherwise, say Al Haymon. And therein lies the regulatory issue …

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Can Bam Bam’s Retirement Reduce His Contractual Relationships to Pebbles?

A Quick Look at the Potential Contractual Implications of the Retirement of Welterweight Contender Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios Following His TKO Loss to Timothy Bradley

At his peak, Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios was one of the most tough, durable, and exciting contenders in all of professional boxing. His bouts consistently generated action, and his mouth consistently generated publicity for them. Rios was rewarded for his exciting career when he was given a shot at future Hall-of-Famer Manny Pacquiao on November 24, 2013. Rios showed his …

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Is Mayweather’s Undefeated Record Potentially Subject to a TKO Loss?

A Quick Look at the Potential Fall-Out from the Revelation that Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Used a Banned IV Following His Weigh-In for the Super Fight with Manny Pacquiao

In the build-up to his upcoming September 12, 2015 bout with Andre Berto, much has been made about undefeated, multi-division world champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Jr., now 48-0 (26 KOs) being able to tie the legendary heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 pre-retirement record with a victory. If he does, Mayweather has indicated that he too will retire …

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Golden Boy Promotions v. Haymon: Who is the Real Double-Dipper?

This past May, boxing promotion company Golden Boy Promotions LLC filed an antitrust action against Alan Haymon, a manager for various boxers, including Floyd Mayweather.  The action claims that Haymon violated the Sherman Antitrust Act, the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, and several state laws, alleging that the manager acted as both a manager of boxers and a boxing promoter to monopolize American boxing.  Laws such as the Ali Act are intended to separate boxing promotion from management so that fiduciary duties owed to …

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Class-Action Lawsuit Filed Against Pacquiao for Failing to Disclose Injury Before Fight

On Tuesday, May 5, boxing fans brought a class-action lawsuit against Manny Pacquiao and members of his promotion team for failing to disclose a shoulder injury prior to Saturday’s “Fight of the Century” against Floyd Mayweather.

The lawsuit was filed by two fans on behalf of “all persons who purchased tickets, purchased the pay per view event or who wagered money on the event.”  The fans claim damages in the amount of $5 million stemming from the conspiracy surrounding Manny Pacquiao’s shoulder injury.  The plaintiffs …

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The Combat Sport that Cannot Slip its Own Punches (Part 2 of 2)

Yesterday we touched on the legal and regulatory controversies in the aftermath of the Manny Pacquiao Floyd Mayweather fight. Today’s post deals with a potential DOJ investigation and lawsuit against a leading manager/advisor in the boxing world.

The Al Haymon Situation

Sparsely reported during week prior to the “Fight of the Century” was that the Association of Boxing Commissions (the ABC), a non-profit organization that strives to provide a more uniform regulatory framework for boxing and mixed martial arts in North America, called upon the …

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