Warren Wins Latest Courtroom Battle Against Burns

It was another legal victory for longtime promoter Frank Warren, who saw the latest courtroom battle versus boxer Ricky Burns land in his favor. The court ruled that there was no basis for Burns to break from his promotional and managerial contracts with Warren upon their messy split last spring. 

Burns fled from Warren's promotional banner shortly after—though not necessarily related to—a lightweight title unification bout with Miguel Vazquez twice fell through the cracks. The Scot signed with rival Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing, a move that sparked a series of lawsuits between the two sides. 

Hearn was confident at the time that Warren's case without merit. "We've been provided with a letter from Burns as confirmation that he has terminated his agreement," it was noted by Hearn's office upon Burns' defection last March. "We have advice from our lawyers and I'm very comfortable. There is no contract now."  

Except that there was, and—as it turned out—Burns wound up the victim of poor legal advice. The lapse in judgment will now cost the former two-division titlist £370,000 in legal fees -  £200,000 of his own, plus an additional and a further £170,000 to cover Warren's end, which must be settled by January 31, 2015.

The ruling was the latest in a series of devastating blows to Burns' side. Warren was awarded a libel suit against Burns' co-manager Alex Morrison in late October . 

In all, Burns' defection to Matchroom Boxing hasn't proven very successful in the ring or in the courtroom. The veteran boxer captured belts at 130 lb. and 135 lb., the latter reign ncluding high profile wins over Michael Katsidis—to win the vacant title—and a 4th round knockout over Kevin Mitchell in what would serve as the Scot's last official fight under Warren's promotional banner.

Upon signing with Matchroom Boxing, Burns struggled to a stoppage win over Jose 'Chelo' Gonzalez—who quit on his stool after nine rounds of a fight he was handily winning—last May, and a highly controversial draw versus Raymundo Beltran later that year. 

Burns' title reign came to an end in March, dropping a decision to Terence Crawford, whose big win on the road kicked off what has become a Fighter of the Year-worthy campaign. Anxious to rebound, Burns returned the ring less than four months later, but found himself outgunned in suffering an upset loss to undefeated but—at the time—unheralded Dejan Zlaticanin. 

This past October saw Burns return to the win column, scoring an eight-round decision over Alex Lepelley. The rest of the year has been spent trading legal blows with Warren, with the latest defeat coming Monday morning in a British courtroom. 

“I'm glad that the Court upheld my management and promotional agreements," Warren said, though with regret for what the series of events have come to following what was once a successful working relationship. "I'm sorry that it came to this, as under my guidance Ricky became a double world champion, but his reliance on the advice of others has unfortunately cost him dearly.”

Burns plans to appeal the decision, as per a statement released by Matchroom Boxing.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox