Top Rank settled its $100 million anti-trust lawsuit against Al Haymon in court documents that were filed this week, perhaps paving the way for the the two giants to work together to make appealing fights. Top Rank CEO Bob Arum said he wasn?t allowed to disclose the terms of the settlement because both sides were bound by a confidentiality agreement.
Arum did say that the settlement was not driven by the idea of making a rematch between Haymon client Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, who Arum promoted. Their fight last May broke every box office record in boxing, grossing around $600 million. ?That subject never ever, even remotely came up,? Arum told RingTV.com.
But Arum allowed for the possibility of working with Haymon on other fights. ?Yeah. If the right matches are there, why wouldn?t we make them?? Arum said but added that he and Haymon haven?t spoken and apparently don?t have any lunch dates scheduled.
One fighter who might benefit from a thawed relationship is featherweight titleholder Vasyl Lomachenko, who could face fellow titleholder Gary Russell Jr. in a rematch. Arum didn?t exactly jump at that idea, though. Russell has pressed for a rematch, claiming he wasn?t at full strength when he lost a decision in 2014. ?The last I saw Lomachenko beat Russell pretty decisively,? Arum said.
But there are other matches to be made: Lomachenko vs. WBA titleholder Leo Santa Cruz; Tim Bradley against any of Haymon?s welterweights, Danny Garcia or the winner of Keith Thurman vs. Shawn Porter; Adrien Broner vs. the winner of Terence Crawford and Viktor Postol; or Jessie Vargas vs. Errol Spence.
Arum filed the lawsuit on July 1, 2015 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, alleging that Haymon?s PBC series was monopolistic and breached federal antitrust laws, along with the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. Haymon engineered a striking take-over of the airwaves when he purchased time on most television networks, which drove a number of promoters off the air.
Arum alleged in the lawsuit that Haymon, by running the PBC series for his fighters, was serving as both a manager and promoter in violation of the Ali Act. The lawsuit alleged that Haymon used ?sham? promoters to run the shows to keep up appearances.
Arum famously said after filing suit he hoped to see it through to trial so he could discover ?where the bodies are buried.? But that won?t happen after the sides settled during the discovery process about two weeks ago, Arum said. Daniel Petrocelli, lead attorney for Top Rank, didn?t immediately return a message for comment. A spokesman for Haymon declined to discuss the settlement.
A joint stipulation of dismissal document filed on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in California by the lead attorneys for both sides, read: ?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,?
Haymon is also being sued by Oscar De La Hoya?s Golden Boy Promotions for $300 million on similar grounds in a case that is ongoing.
