How do promoters bench fighters?

[DoktorSleepless]

I sometimes hear about promoters benching fighters and keeping them inactive for years. How can they possibly legally do that? Don't contracts usually have a minimum number of fights a year a promoter has to provide? If the promoter fails to deliver, why can't they just leave the contract?

[Russian Crushin]

Fighters sign their lives away in the beginning of their careers that have a million clauses and provisions. Just look at Mikey garcia's contract, it expires in may but If he is holding a title when it expires, Top Rank gets to promote his next 5 title fights

[DoktorSleepless]

Just look at Mikey garcia's contract, it expires in may but If he is holding a title when it expires, Top Rank gets to promote his next 5 title fights

I know the title extension thing is pretty standard for all promoters. But that's a clause that makes it more likely that Mikey will active, not inactive.

What kind of fucked up clauses exist to keep a fighter inactive is what I want to know. I mean, there's no way anyone would sign a contract that only provides a one fight a year. What clause prevented Tavoris Cloud and Bundrage from fighting more than once a year with Don King? How is Andre Dirrell only fighting once a year with 50 cent? I have never heard any specific reason.

The only thing I could think of is that fighters agreed to a low minimum so they refuse to fight for a relatively low purse after tasting big money this one time. But that would be the fighter benching himself in a way.

[LA_2_Vegas]

I have no inside info as it pertains to boxing, but I've always viewed some of the inner workings in the sport similar to the music industry.

When artists and albums get 'shelved' for example, it's usually because of the a mixture of the following reasons:

The label(promoter) wants to take a different direction overall based on market conditions and consumer taste.

The numbers don't add up, where the production/promotion costs outweigh the revenue estimation in the labels' timeline for the release (fight).

The label see's better potential with other similar artists on the roster. Potential with market reach, smaller production costs, less overhead.

Also, i wonder how taking advances plays into this..where an artist or fighter goes into debt to the label/promoter

[DoktorSleepless]

I read Mikey Garcia's first contract with Arum in that lawsuit pdf, and I didn't see anything that allowed Arum to bench him. Assuming that's a standard contact, how do promoters do it?