By Jake Donovan
Longtime promotional outfit Top Rank Inc. dropped a bombshell on Wednesday, filing a lawsuit against Al Haymon seeking in efforts to prevent the high-powered adviser from further developing his
Premier Boxing Champions
series.
“Al Haymon and Waddell & Reed (an investment firm who serves as the financial backers for the PBC series) are engaged in a sophisticated scheme to gain control of the boxing industry,” said Daniel Petrocelli, lead attorney for Top Rank
in filing the lawsuit Wednesday morning
. “As the lawsuit explains in detail, they are violating federal law, defying state regulator and absorbing significant short-term losses to drive legitimate operators out of the business.”
Top Rank’s lawsuit—in which it is seeking $100 million in damages and an injuction to stop the alleged predatory practices by PBC—comes on the heels of a similar case filed by Golden Boy Promotions earlier this year.
As the PBC movement began to spread throughout the industry, such legal matters were bound to surface. The company has since prepared to fight it out in the long haul with business as usual in the meantime, as Haymon finds dates and networks for an estimated stable of more than 200 fighters.
PBC events have already appeared on NBC, NBC Sports, CBS, Bounce TV and Spike TV. A new monthly series on ESPN is set to begin July 11, which will eventually roll over into cards appearing on sister network ABC. Future editions are expected to also air on Fox Sports, whose final show with Golden Boy Promotions will run Thursday evening on its Spanish-speaking outlet, Fox Deportes.
Haymon-advised fighters are also regularly showcased on Showtime, although such cards on the premium cable outlet do not specifically carry the PBC brand.
The company released a brief statement through its legal representatives at Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP.
“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 next PBC event is set to take place July 11 in Tampa, Florida. Headlining the show—which airs live in prime time on ESPN—unbeaten Keith Thurman faces Luis Collazo in a 12-round welterweight battle. The show kicks off a block of at least five confirmed shows spanning six weekends, airing on ESPN (twice), CBS, NBC Sports and Spike TV.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox

