HomeFeaturePromoter Bob Arum Says Boxing Industry’s Fixed, Files $100 Million Anti-Trust Lawsuit admin Friday, July 3, 2015 Feature, Sports, The Game Money talks and bullsh*t walks. This applies to almost EVERYTHING that goes on in the entertainment and sports industries. In boxing, however, when money talks it’s at a whole other level. Well, Manny Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum is tired of the BS and feels like a certain someone is taking money out of his pockets. Recently, Bob Arum and his company Top Rank, Inc. filed a 50-page anti-trust lawsuit against Floyd Mayweather’s manager Al Haymon. The lawsuit claims that Haymon is “rigging the boxing industry” by preventing other promoters like Top Rank and Roc Nation to make money. Arum is seeking $100 million in damages and an injunction to put a hault to Haymon’s shady business practices. According to the NY Daily News, asset management and financial planning company, Waddell & Reed is also named in the lawsuit. The asset management and financial planning firm “allegedly” gave $400 million in funding towards Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions boxing series. In the past several months, Haymon, who reportedly manages close to 200 fighters, including Mayweather, has transformed the way fans consume boxing by, according to the suit, arranging time-buy deals with NBC, CBS, ESPN, Fox Sports and Spike to show boxing on network television. The suit compares these tactics to the “predatory payola practices employed in the music industry in the mid-20th century” by gaining exclusive commitments from broadcasters by spending millions of dollars for the spots. It’s all part of a short-term loss strategy that could cost Haymon more than $200 million in the first 24 months of operation, the suit alleges. But it’s all part of a larger strategy to game the system, the suit says. “Once Haymon obtains monopoly power in the market for promoting professional matches, he will recoup the losses by charging exorbitant prices to broadcasters, sponsors, and consumers” to the detriment of rival promoters such as Top Rank, the suit alleges of Haymon’s strategy. The suit also alleges that Haymon has acted as both a manager and promoter, violating the principles of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, among other state and federal laws. Read more here… Photo credit: TheBoxingVoice
