By Jake Donovan
There’s certainly no guarantee that the winner of the June 25 showdown between Keith Thurman and Shawn Porter will go on to face Timothy Bradley Jr. or Jessie Vargas. For the first time in a long time, though, boxing fans can actually theorize such a matchup without the sport’s politics making it a non-starter.
Less than a year after filing a $100 million antitrust lawsuit against adviser Al Haymon and his business ventures, Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. and the company’s legal team have agreed to proceed in a joint dismissal of the case.
News of such a development was first teased earlier this month by Chris Mannix of Yahoo! Sports, with the final ruling coming down Wednesday afternoon in the U.S. District Court, Central District of California.
“Plaintiff Top Rank, Inc. and Defendants Alan Haymon, Haymon Boxing LLC, Haymon Sports LLC, Haymon Holdings LLC, and Alan Haymon Development, Inc. hereby stipulate to the dismissal with prejudice of all claims between them in this action, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(ii), and subject to the terms of a confidential agreement,” read the brief official ruling, of which a copy was obtained by BoxingScene.com.
Representatives from Top Rank and Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) organization declined comment to BoxingScene.com due to the confidentiality clause attached to the ruling.
It has been widely speculated that such a dismissal has come on the condition of the guarantee of future business to be conducted between the two entities. Included among such rumors was an alleged plan in place for a rematch between Floyd Mayweather Jr. – advised by Haymon - and Manny Pacquiao, who is promoted by Top Rank.
The sport’s top two attractions managed to run parallel for more than five years before finally agreeing to terms for their long overdue showdown last May. The bout itself was a dud, but the event established insurmountable financial benchmarks across the board, generating more than double the most revenue for a boxing Pay-Per-View event and more than tripling the largest ever live gate at the box office.
Mayweather won a 12-round decision in a dull encounter where Pacquiao reportedly re-aggravated a previous torn rotator cuff injury. Regardless, both laughed all the way to the bank, each bringing him paydays deep into the nine-figure range, with some reports suggesting that Mayweather – who has been his own promoter since 2006 – clocked north of $250 million.
In other words, the event generated the type of money to where it would be foolish to NOT discuss the possibility of ever doing it again. This, despite the fact that it left a bad taste in the collective mouths of the boxing world that lingers to this day.
Their clash last May came two months before Top Rank became the latest entity to sue Haymon’s enterprise. Its lawsuit alleged that “Haymon and [investment firm] Waddell & Reed are engaged in a sophisticated scheme to gain control of the boxing industry.”
Among the charges levied by Top Rank’s legal team included (but were not limited to): Haymon forbidding any boxer he advised from being promoted by Top Rank or any other promotional entity; paying boxers to NOT spar with athletes under the Top Rank banner; refusing to enter negotiations for fights with other boxers not under Haymon’s advisory control; blocking Top Rank (and other promoters) from TV opportunities and – through a practice referred to as “venue squatting” - access to major venues.
The original case was dismissed in a California court last October, but with room for Top Rank to file an amended lawsuit. Among the conditions cited the judge was that Waddell & Reed – the Kansas-based investment firm who bankrolled Haymon’s PBC series – not be named in any future filings, as well as the urging of Top Rank to tighten up its own claims of market manipulation by the other side.
With that came an amended filing last Halloween. The case eventually entered the discovery phase – a point that was speculated by many as the purpose of the suit filed by Top Rank, as well as separate (and still ongoing) $300 million lawsuit filed by Golden Boy Promotions.
The motion was considered a big deal at the time, as it meant that Haymon – a well-detailed businessman but largely a mysterious and private figure beyond his own inner circle – essentially opening his books. Top Rank’s legal team acknowledged the ruling was merely a minor victory, but the start of a lengthy process that would eventually provide its side with the evidence needed to prove its case.
However, it was learned earlier this month that Top Rank no longer sought document production from the “sham” promoters used by Haymon as named in the lawsuit. The move signaled a potential settlement to follow, although both sides played ignorant to the rumor.
For the moment, both sides remain silent on the settlement, although there has been strong suggestion that the next step is not to negotiate Mayweather-Pacquiao II, especially considering that both prizefighters are currently retired after posting separate winning performances in the final bout of their respective careers.
Mayweather exited the game at 49-0 (26KOs) following a lopsided victory over Andre Berto last September. He's since teased the possibility of returning to the ring - for a bout with worldwide UFC superstar Conor McGregor.
Meanwhile, Pacquiao called it quits following a two-knockdown, clear-cut points win over Timothy Bradley Jr. in their rubber match this past April. The bout came with the disclaimer that the former eight-division champ would likely bow out of the boxing game in pursuit of a senatorial run in the Philippines.
That became a reality on Thursday, when Pacquiao was officially named Senator-elect, obtaining one of the 12 open seats through the general election held in his homeland.
With any thoughts of a sequel to boxing's richest event no longer on the table, BoxingScene.com has learned that the recent lawsuit settlement will instead open the door for Top Rank and Haymon to conduct regular business together. Should that development materialize, it will be a major win for boxing fans who for too long have been forced to accept what the sport was able – or willing – to offer, given the politics surrounding a number of desirable matchups.
It could also mean that Top Rank would not have to go the Pay-Per-View route for the sake of keeping its athletes active while navigating around a limited scope of televised coverage, but rather work within Haymon's PBC circuit.
The Vegas-based promotional giant has been a longtime loyalist to HBO, who more than three years made a corporate decision to no longer remain in business with Haymon. There has been an occasional exception to that rule – chief among them, a joint venture between HBO and Showtime to present Mayweather-Pacquiao.
In recent weeks, Haymon has sent the likes of Amir Khan and Dominic Wade “across the street” as both were paired in fights versus Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin, respectively.
As for Top Rank and Haymon, business dealings beyond Mayweather-Pacquiao were limited to title fights and eliminators ordered by sanctioning bodies, either agreeing to terms or allowing such bouts to go to a purse bid hearing. It was how Top Rank’s blue-chipper Vasyl Lomachenko achieved his first title win in the pro ranks, dominating the Haymon-advised Gary Russell Jr. over 12 rounds in a June ’14 vacant featherweight title fight in which Golden Boy Promotions – headed by Richard Schaefer at the time – submitted a massive bid to secure fight rights.
Interestingly, Top Rank and Haymon – through Mayweather Promotions – were able to successfully negotiate a lightweight title fight between Mickey Bey and Denis Shafikov. The fight fell apart only because Bey – promoted by Mayweather Promotions – initially turned down a generous payday as secured by his team, before relinquishing his title altogether for refusal to travel to Macau and defend on a rival promoter’s show.
The fallout led to the two sides remaining in business together, however, as the Haymon-advised Rances Barthelemy faced and defeated Shafikov last December to win the vacant title.
Not much business has since been discussed between the two sides, although that figures to change in the near future. One such fight that will have to be worked out is a welterweight title eliminator between unbeaten contenders Errol Spence Jr. (Haymon) and Konstantin Ponomarev (Top Rank). The winner of such a fight will go on to receive a mandatory shot at unbeaten welterweight titlist Kell Brook.
Where negotiations presently stand depend on whom you ask, although such talks limited to – and dismissed by BoxingScene.com as – unfounded rumors. There is the working theory that the fight will not only get made, but will open the door for Top Rank to secure time slots through Haymon’s PBC platform, a welcomed scenario considering the budget issues that currently plague the HBO Sports department, which has resulted in fewer available boxing dates.
Such a development – should it pan out – is a long way from landing dream fights between the top athletes between the two entities. For the first time in a long time, though, it provides a glimmer of hope and optimism to an industry that for far too long has struggled to get out of its own way.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2
