Comments Thread For: Stevenson's Promoter on Kovalev vs. Ward Showdown

[bigdunny1]

trust me he didnt mkae 750k..lara even makes 1 million a showing bro...

u didnt dispute my point about duva dropping her claim just bc of hopkins..u think big mouth hopkins wouldnt hav bragged about being the reason haymon is still afloat?? lol hbo stopped that fight and told her to keep the suit on until she no longer can for public perception...the writers are own by the hbo side..while pbc just does business whether it is written or not..al doesnt do media he puts on fight

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id/11309033/main-events-drops-lawsuit-adonis-stevenson

Suit against Stevenson dropped
8/4/2014 - Boxing
Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer


After securing a light heavyweight title unification fight for Sergey Kovalev, promoter Main Events dropped its lawsuit against Adonis Stevenson on Monday.

Main Events had filed a suit in New York federal court in late April after Stevenson reneged on a deal Main Events said it had with him. But on Friday, Main Events secured a unification fight for Kovalev with Bernard Hopkins, who holds two of the 175-pound world titles. As a result, Main Events dropped its suit against Stevenson, promoter Yvon Michel, his company Groupe Yvon Michel, Stevenson adviser Al Haymon, Golden Boy Promotions, former Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer and Showtime.

"We decided there are no damages," Main Events attorney Pat English told ESPN.com Monday after he filed the paperwork with the court. "Since the filing of the lawsuit the circumstances changed in that Main Events, Golden Boy, Hopkins and Kovalev have agreed to a major unification fight in the light heavyweight division.

"This was the goal that Main Events had for Kovalev and it also eliminated any damages we may have had. As a result, we dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning if something goes awry we can reinstate the complaint. But we don't anticipate any problems. It's now Stevenson who is on the outside looking in."

Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN.com, "We are pleased this matter has been resolved. [We] look forward to an exciting fight between Hopkins and Kovalev and remain committed to partnering with anyone and everyone in the boxing community who shares our vision of giving fans the fights they want to see."

Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) knocked out Blake Caparello in the second round on Saturday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to preserve the fight with Hopkins, which had been signed on Friday afternoon.

Kovalev had hoped to face Stevenson in a fall unification fight on HBO. Main Events and HBO claimed they made a deal with Stevenson and Michel for the fight but that they reneged, instead following the advice of Haymon, Stevenson's newly-signed adviser, by accepting an offer from Showtime for a May tune-up fight to be followed by what was supposed to be a fall unification bout with Hopkins.

Stevenson-Kovalev was to take place on HBO following each man having a tune-up fight. Kovalev knocked out Cedric Agnew on March 29 and Stevenson was to face Andrezj Fonfara on May 24, a fight he won by decision. But just days before Kovalev-Agnew, Stevenson signed a deal at Showtime, faced Fonfara on that network and dismissed the notion of the fall fight with Kovalev.

Hopkins had also been fighting on Showtime and the primary reason Stevenson (24-1, 20 KOs) went there was for an eventual fight with Hopkins. But while Stevenson-Hopkins was in discussions, it was never finalized and with Hopkins facing an IBF-imposed deadline of 5 p.m. ET Friday to get a unification fight signed -- or be ordered to make a mandatory defense -- Hopkins and his promoter, Golden Boy, stepped on the gas and made a deal to fight Kovalev instead, needing a little more than a day to go from the first phone call between Golden Boy vice president Eric Gomez and Main Events chief executive Kathy Duva to a signed contract.

Hopkins much preferred unifying titles for significant money over facing unknown mandatory challenger Nadjib Mohammedi of France for what would likely have been short money. Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs), who will turn 50 in January, unified two belts April 19 by dropping and outpointing Beibut Shumenov in a dominant performance.

"The purpose of the lawsuit was to secure a unification bout for Sergey and allow him to face the top competition in the light heavyweight division," Duva said. "By signing on with Hopkins and Golden Boy Promotions for a three-title unification bout, Main Events secured the big fight that Sergey wanted. We no longer have damages, so we will not proceed with the litigation at this time."

The lawsuit contended that Michel and Stevenson backed out of a deal for Stevenson-Kovalev and that Haymon interfered with the agreement, conspiring with Golden Boy and Showtime to instead match Stevenson with Hopkins in the fall.

Hopkins-Kovalev will take place in November, likely Nov. 8, at either Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City or the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

[bigdunny1]

No they didn't. Rick Reeno posted the facts here on NSB. HBO failed to get the necessary deal done. Haymon signed and unsigned fighter. HBO then did the same with Kov a year later.

As for fighters, much like KOv, you are not the best unless you beat the best. HBO does have the big names, but as we saw with GGG's PPV you and other HBO loyalists have an outsized perception of how big these guys are.

Look, you obviously want HBO to keep its spot as the top boxing network more than you want to see the best fights. If HBO chooses to ban Haymon fighters and prevent the best fights from happening, so be it.

WHy you as a boxing fan would cosign that is mind boggling.

Just let the highest bidder have the fight. That's the best way to do it. Either HBO puts more into boxing or they lose all the best fights.

Again facts are facts HBO has tried to make multiple fights with HBO fighters against Haymon fighters so saying HBO is banning him is BS. HBO closed shop with Haymon showcase fights and you know the difference. Already pointed out the Beterbiev offer from HBO that blew away the money he was getting on PBC cards and like Haymon does he made his fighter turn it down. And we are seeing the best fights just NOT with Haymon fighters and again that's his choice. Kovalev, Hopkins, Pascal, Ward all fighting each other. Hopkins when Haymon turned him down WAS not a HBO guy and was willing to fight Stevenson on Showtime NOT HBO. But that fight didn't happen because his beef with Golden Boy. Just like the Quillen fight didn't happen and because his beef with Roc Nation. Starting to see a pattern here? Keep thinking it's about bogus purse bids or just a outlier with HBO. But all year Ward has not had any contract with HBO and was free to fight on ANY network evident by him fighting on BET. Why was none of the large stable of Haymon fighters negotiating or trying to fight him? Like I don't know maybe Stevenson? You know the answer and it wasn't because of HBO and it wasn't because of phony purses. It was because Haymon has beef with Jay-Z who owns Roc Nation. If you have more then 2 brain cells it's clear what's going on Haymon doesn't want any of his fighters on networks or promoters cards that he has beef with. And that's fine it's his right if he's still upset with HBO or just trying to compete with them so wants to refuse doing business that's cool. But him and his fans need to stop pretending it's about highest bidder or money because it's not. It's about politics and Haymon refusing to play with people he got beef with. Unfortunately for Stevenson looks like he's screwed for big fights

[GTTofAK]

Good for Ward. Uncertainty creates opportunity. I do feel a little sad for Stevenson. He is a great talent but he is wasting his career fighting bums for Haymon.

[tiliheels]

http://espn.go.com/boxing/story/_/id...onis-stevenson

Suit against Stevenson dropped
8/4/2014 - Boxing
Dan Rafael, ESPN Senior Writer


After securing a light heavyweight title unification fight for Sergey Kovalev, promoter Main Events dropped its lawsuit against Adonis Stevenson on Monday.

Main Events had filed a suit in New York federal court in late April after Stevenson reneged on a deal Main Events said it had with him. But on Friday, Main Events secured a unification fight for Kovalev with Bernard Hopkins, who holds two of the 175-pound world titles. As a result, Main Events dropped its suit against Stevenson, promoter Yvon Michel, his company Groupe Yvon Michel, Stevenson adviser Al Haymon, Golden Boy Promotions, former Golden Boy chief executive Richard Schaefer and Showtime.

"We decided there are no damages," Main Events attorney Pat English told ESPN.com Monday after he filed the paperwork with the court. "Since the filing of the lawsuit the circumstances changed in that Main Events, Golden Boy, Hopkins and Kovalev have agreed to a major unification fight in the light heavyweight division.

"This was the goal that Main Events had for Kovalev and it also eliminated any damages we may have had. As a result, we dismissed the case without prejudice, meaning if something goes awry we can reinstate the complaint. But we don't anticipate any problems. It's now Stevenson who is on the outside looking in."

Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya told ESPN.com, "We are pleased this matter has been resolved. [We] look forward to an exciting fight between Hopkins and Kovalev and remain committed to partnering with anyone and everyone in the boxing community who shares our vision of giving fans the fights they want to see."

Kovalev (25-0-1, 23 KOs) knocked out Blake Caparello in the second round on Saturday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey, to preserve the fight with Hopkins, which had been signed on Friday afternoon.

Kovalev had hoped to face Stevenson in a fall unification fight on HBO. Main Events and HBO claimed they made a deal with Stevenson and Michel for the fight but that they reneged, instead following the advice of Haymon, Stevenson's newly-signed adviser, by accepting an offer from Showtime for a May tune-up fight to be followed by what was supposed to be a fall unification bout with Hopkins.

Stevenson-Kovalev was to take place on HBO following each man having a tune-up fight. Kovalev knocked out Cedric Agnew on March 29 and Stevenson was to face Andrezj Fonfara on May 24, a fight he won by decision. But just days before Kovalev-Agnew, Stevenson signed a deal at Showtime, faced Fonfara on that network and dismissed the notion of the fall fight with Kovalev.

Hopkins had also been fighting on Showtime and the primary reason Stevenson (24-1, 20 KOs) went there was for an eventual fight with Hopkins. But while Stevenson-Hopkins was in discussions, it was never finalized and with Hopkins facing an IBF-imposed deadline of 5 p.m. ET Friday to get a unification fight signed -- or be ordered to make a mandatory defense -- Hopkins and his promoter, Golden Boy, stepped on the gas and made a deal to fight Kovalev instead, needing a little more than a day to go from the first phone call between Golden Boy vice president Eric Gomez and Main Events chief executive Kathy Duva to a signed contract.

Hopkins much preferred unifying titles for significant money over facing unknown mandatory challenger Nadjib Mohammedi of France for what would likely have been short money. Hopkins (55-6-2, 32 KOs), who will turn 50 in January, unified two belts April 19 by dropping and outpointing Beibut Shumenov in a dominant performance.

"The purpose of the lawsuit was to secure a unification bout for Sergey and allow him to face the top competition in the light heavyweight division," Duva said. "By signing on with Hopkins and Golden Boy Promotions for a three-title unification bout, Main Events secured the big fight that Sergey wanted. We no longer have damages, so we will not proceed with the litigation at this time."

The lawsuit contended that Michel and Stevenson backed out of a deal for Stevenson-Kovalev and that Haymon interfered with the agreement, conspiring with Golden Boy and Showtime to instead match Stevenson with Hopkins in the fall.

Hopkins-Kovalev will take place in November, likely Nov. 8, at either Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City or the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

spins from the head of main events doesnt make this true..use the tools god gave you which is logic...they had nothing...they could have ended haymon and got a fight..dont be a fool..they havent got the stevenson fight yet..why is the lawsuit not back open? dang you are dumb

[The Big Dunn]

Again facts are facts HBO has tried to make multiple fights with HBO fighters against Haymon fighters so saying HBO is banning him is BS. HBO closed shop with Haymon showcase fights and you know the difference. Already pointed out the Beterbiev offer from HBO that blew away the money he was getting on PBC cards and like Haymon does he made his fighter turn it down. And we are seeing the best fights just NOT with Haymon fighters and again that's his choice. Kovalev, Hopkins, Pascal, Ward all fighting each other. Hopkins when Haymon turned him down WAS not a HBO guy and was willing to fight Stevenson on Showtime NOT HBO. But that fight didn't happen because his beef with Golden Boy. Just like the Quillen fight didn't happen and because his beef with Roc Nation. Starting to see a pattern here? Keep thinking it's about bogus purse bids or just a outlier with HBO. But all year Ward has not had any contract with HBO and was free to fight on ANY network evident by him fighting on BET. Why was none of the large stable of Haymon fighters negotiating or trying to fight him? Like I don't know maybe Stevenson? You know the answer and it wasn't because of HBO and it wasn't because of phony purses. It was because Haymon has beef with Jay-Z who owns Roc Nation. If you have more then 2 brain cells it's clear what's going on Haymon doesn't want any of his fighters on networks or promoters cards that he has beef with. And that's fine it's his right if he's still upset with HBO or just trying to compete with them so wants to refuse doing business that's cool. But him and his fans need to stop pretending it's about highest bidder or money because it's not. It's about politics and Haymon refusing to play with people he got beef with. Unfortunately for Stevenson looks like he's screwed for big fights

huh? HBO banned him dude, that isn't BS that came straight from HBO President Hershman.

HBO opffered to Bieterbiev knowing it would get turned down FFS. If Showtime offered GGG that to fight Quillin, you'd say this so at least be objective.

I agree with you, Haymon wants his fighters on his network but that is because HBO banned him so now he is going all out to beat them. He is protecting his investment same as HBO.

Sorry dude but place blame where it belongs and stop asking Haymon to conform to HBO's pricing structure.

[bigdunny1]

spins from the head of main events doesnt make this true..use the tools god gave you which is logic...they had nothing...they could have ended haymon and got a fight..dont be a fool..they havent got the stevenson fight yet..why is the lawsuit not back open? dang you are dumb

Are you serious or just re tarded. They dropped the lawsuit the same time they announced the fight. And it's right there in the quotes the lawsuit months earlier claimed damages. How can you keep a lawsuit going for damages when you got a bigger fight then the one Stevenson "illegally" backed out of? To put it simple it's like a football play where a player holds your receiver at the line of scrimmage but he fights through catches the ball and gets a Touchdown. The flag is on the field but rather then take the penalty that gives you a fresh first down you decline it and take the touchdown because touchdown is better then 10 yards and a first down. That's what Main Events did. They sued for damages and dropped the lawsuit because they stole a even bigger fight with a HOF in Hopkins. The same guy Stevenson was ducking you for no less lol Like can you even read. I'm done with you. Move on to another point or just shut up you sound foolish.

[big_james10]

The deal was done years ago when Kovalev and Stevenson were both on HBO and set to fight each other. Then Stevenson signs Haymon as his "advisor" and immediately killed the fight. Moved Stevenson off HBO and turned down the Kovalev fight with the excuse at that time being he wanted to fight Bernard Hopkins for more money. Not only does that fight never happen with Haymon stalling and refusing to agree to the contract and after waiting too long Hopkins instead fights Kovalev. Stevenson's TV ratings dropped big time from moving from HBO to Showtime. His last 2 tv ratings on PBC have been dreadful and he hasn't gotten a significant fight since turning down Kovalev. Stevenson is not a young dude he's pushing 40 and wasting the most important years of his career.

No doubt not fighting Kovalev has hurt Stevenson's career more then Kovalev. Since the time Stevenson backed out the fight he has gone on to fight and beat top light heavyweights like Hopkins, Pascal and once Ward's deal is official he will have a guarantee that he get's that fight next year. Kovalev is more relevant and popular now then when he was originally supposed to fight Stevenson. So his arrow is pointing up. While Stevenson's is pointing down he is stuck facing weak competition on PBC that does nothing for his legacy and gets killed by fans. Stevenson was more relevant and popular when he was fighting on HBO.

The only people who care about legacy are the fans. In spite of what they say, fighters don't give a damn about legacy. They care about making money. If they end their careers with a great legacy, that is icing on the cake. However, their first and only priority is making as much money as they can. Stevenson signed with Al Haymon to maximize his income and that is exactly what he has done. He has made more money fighting second and third tier opponents in the last two years than Kovalev made fighting Hopkins and Pascal.

A Stevenson/Kovalev fight would be great. However, it is being held up by both sides, not just Stevenson's.

[-Hyperion-]

Do the people *****ing about this not going to purse bid conveniently forget Quillin-Korobov?....

[bigdunny1]

huh? HBO banned him dude, that isn't BS that came straight from HBO President Hershman.

HBO opffered to Bieterbiev knowing it would get turned down FFS. If Showtime offered GGG that to fight Quillin, you'd say this so at least be objective.

I agree with you, Haymon wants his fighters on his network but that is because HBO banned him so now he is going all out to beat them. He is protecting his investment same as HBO.

Sorry dude but place blame where it belongs and stop asking Haymon to conform to HBO's pricing structure.

First comparing this to GGG fighting on Showtime is foolish because GGG has a exclusive contract with HBO he can't fight anywhere else and Beterbiev is a network free agent allow to fight anywhere. Huge difference. But why would HBO know he would turn it down Beterbiev fight if you first said Haymon only cares about getting the most money for his fight? That's my only beef it's not about the money or phony purses and clearly you know that as well. You want to say he just doesn't want to work with HBO and that's his right cool. I'm not saying he has to do anything let alone conform to HBO but you and others saying Haymon won't work with HBO because they won't pay or phony purse bids is the biggest load of crap. His grudge/Beef/Retaliation whatever you want to call it with HBO is why he won't allow those guys to fight on HBO not money and not purse bids. So let Stevenson watch the parade pass him by fighting irrelevant guys on PBC and getting booed by fans who call him a duck.

[tiliheels]

Do the people *****ing about this not going to purse bid conveniently forget Quillin-Korobov?....

do u forget that peter said he didnt want the fight bc his ppl died..do u forget that al won purse bid to lomo vs russell? STFU if u dont know wat u are talkin about..quillen not only skipped that bid, but he took a break from boxing bc his family dude..that stuff happens..

i can name more haymon purse bids if u would like..