by David P. Greisman

Junior lightweight titleholder Mikey Garcia has filed a lawsuit against promoter Top Rank in a California court, alleging violations of the Muhammad Ali Act and seeking to break free from his contract with the company, according to a copy of the lawsuit obtained by BadCulture.net.

The lawsuit alleges that Garcia’s contract “improperly provides Top Rank the ability to extend the agreement indefinitely, essentially rendering the contracting fighter an indentured servant of Top Rank.” The filing claims that the contract violates California law. It also claims that the promoter has also violated the United States’ Muhammad Ali Act for multiple reasons, including “by failing to make required disclosures to Garcia concerning, among other things, the amount of money it would make from each of Garcia’s bouts.”

The lawsuit was filed April 8 in Riverside Superior Court. Online court records show the case as being open, with a case management conference hearing scheduled for Oct. 6.

Garcia, who also previously held a world title at featherweight, last fought in January, outpointing Juan Carlos Burgos and moving to 34-0 with 28 KOs. A proposed fight with Yuriorkis Gamboa did not come to fruition.

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