By Rick Reeno
As previously reported, WBC junior middleweight champion Sergio Mora has his back against the wall. He is contractually obligated to rematch Vernon Forrest in the fall, and he owes a mandatory title shot to Sergio Martinez. If he decides to face Martinez, he will face legal action from Forrest for breaching the immediate rematch clause which stems from their fight contract. If he fights Forrest, the WBC will strip him of the title.
In an effort to save his title reign, Vincent H. Chieffo, Esq., acting for Mora and promotional company Tournament of Contenders, sent a letter to the WBC on July 1, arguing that Mora still had plenty of time to make the defense. BoxingScene.com has obtained the below letter, written by the WBC's legal counsel, Robert J.B. Lenhardt, responding to Chieffo and restating the WBC's position, which directs Mora to face Martinez or face being stripped. A purse bid is still scheduled for July 25.
To: Vincent H. Chieffo, Esq.
Greenberg Traurig, LLP
Re: Sergio Mora
Dear Mr. Chieffo:
The World Boxing Council (“WBC”) in receipt of your letter dated July 1, 2008 regarding Sergio Mora. Please permit me to respond on the WBC’s behalf.
It is unfortunate that in drafting your letter you did not have the context of the underlying facts and circumstances regarding Mr. Mora’s opportunity to contend for the WBC Superwelterweight title.
If so, you would have been aware of the clear written record pursuant to which then-champion Vernon Forrest, who was obligated at the time to fight the mandatory contender in the division, Sergio Martinez, and who had only a limited, expired period to fight one voluntary bout, sought and received special permission to obtain the voluntary bout against Sergio Mora in June 2008.
Under ordinary circumstances, Mr. Mora would not have received this opportunity, absent the agreement of Mr. Martinez and the special permission of the WBC to permit the voluntary June bout. It is sad that the WBC, having given Mr. Mora an opportunity to win our championship, now is subject to specious claims of unfair treatment. In permitting an exception to its prior rulings that permitted Mr. Mora to contend for our title, the WBC mandated and relied upon the new champion complying with the WBC’s rulings and conditions.
For example, in granting its permission for Mr. Mora to contend for the title against Mr. Forrest, the WBC expressly stated the following condition in writing to the promoters of the bout: “If the winner of the Forrest-Mora fight does not accept to fight the mandatory challenger, he will be relinquishing the WBC Superwelterweight title, which will be declared vacant.”
Your letter states, “We… find no authority for the WBC to designate who Mr. Mora will fight next or even who he will fight first with respect to the two required defenses of his title”. The claim that the WBC has no right to designate or approve the contenders for its own championship, under its own exclusive trademarks, is patently absurd. The WBC has historically, and through its rules and regulations, exercised its authority to enforce two mandatory bouts in succession.
The applicable rule is, again, WBC Rules and Regulations’ Rule 1.22, “General matters pertaining to championship defense obligations”, which reads in part:
iv. A challenger who wins the title shall automatically inherit the mandatory defense obligations of the champion he defeated…
Prior to Mr. Mora winning the WBC championship, the WBC had designated Mr. Martinez as not only the mandatory bout in the division, but that a mandatory challenge was both immediately due and the required next bout for the champion, whether that be Mr. Forrest or Mr. Mora. All documentation surrounding this bout, internally and with third parties, fully supports this fact.
In closing, the WBC maintains its prior rulings and authority in this matter. The free negotiation period began on June 11 (not July 11 as you have misread) as previously advised and is continuing. If there is no agreement between the parties, the purse offer ceremony will be held at noon on July 25, 2008, in the WBC Executive Offices in Mexico City. Should Mr. Mora decide not to comply with his obligations under the WBC’s rulings, rules and regulations, then, as previously documented, he will relinquish the WBC Superwelterweight title, which will be declared vacant.
We note that your client is of course Mr. Mora’s promoter Tournament of Contenders, LLC, not Sergio Mora. We believe that Mr. Mora has the right to make his own decision what actions are in his best interests, subject only to prior contractual commitments. I do note, however, that the WBC would be more than happy to work together in coordination with Tournament of Contenders and Dreamworks in a cooperative way that does not conflict with the rights of other boxers under WBC rulings, and sincerely invite your client to engage the WBC in cooperative discussions in that regard.
In fact, following Mr. Mora’s victory, as was contemporaneously documented, Mr. Jeff Wald telephoned WBC President José Sulaimán to say how proud Mr. Mora was to have won the green belt of the WBC, and that the champion was extremely happy to have dealt with the WBC after having had bad experiences of unfairness and arrogance with other sanctioning organizations. Again, it is sad that the WBC’s fairness in dealing with Mr. Mora should be met with a legal demand letter. We believe that our new champion respects the WBC, and we respect and support him, provided he complies with his responsibilities as a standard-bearer of the World Boxing Council.
Please permit me to add two final notes. First, the WBC President José Sulaimán has asked me to convey his warmest congratulations and best personal regards to our champion Sergio Mora and we ask you to please pass those comments along to him. Second, Sergio Mora stated that it was his dream to become a WBC Champion, and the promoters of the championship bout have contacted the WBC Executive Secretary requesting that the WBC President have a special ceremony in Mexico City to award the championship belt to Sergio Mora, with all of the Mexican press present.
The World Boxing Council believes that this type of mutual affection and respect between our champion and the WBC indicates Mr. Mora’s desire to comply truly with his obligations as a champion to the WBC and the other contenders in the division. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Robert J.B. Lenhardt
WBC Legal Counsellor
