The tug-of-war for boxing icon Manny Pacquiao’s promotional rights between US rivals Top Rank and Golden Boy is headed for a protracted war in the courts with no immediate resolution in sight.
Neither party is amendable to a settlement at the moment as lawyers are pitched in the trenches gearing for a long battle.
Pacquiao is not named in any suit as Golden Boy and Top Rank are careful not to antagonize him. But both groups are pulling no punches in trying to discredit each other in media, confident of their chances to prove their case in court.
Meanwhile, Golden Boy chief executive officer Richard Schaefer said the Oscar de la Hoya group has declined Top Rank’s offer of a $2.5-million purse for Marco Antonio Barrera to fight Pacquiao in a rematch and appealed to the Filipino fighter “to get rid of whomever the people are around him feeding him unconstructive and career-damaging information.”
Pacquiao signed a seven-fight deal with Golden Boy in De la Hoya’s presence in Los Angeles last September. However, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum, a Harvard cum laude law graduate, said the contract is “voidable” because Pacquiao was bound by a prior agreement restraining him from signing any promotional deal until after his third bout against Erik Morales last November.
At a press conference shortly after Pacquiao knocked out Morales, Arum announced the Filipino had come to terms on a four-year deal with Top Rank. Arum said Pacquiao sent back the $350,000 signing bonus and $150,000 advance on future purses to Golden Boy. Top Rank gave Pacquiao a $1-million signing bonus.
Golden Boy declined to receive the $500,000 that Pacquiao returned and filed a suit against Top Rank for torturous interference in Los Angeles. Top Rank countered by suing Golden Boy in Las Vegas.
Arum told The Star he is eager to accelerate the legal process but Golden Boy’s lawyers are delaying what he called the inevitable.
“We have a strong case and we want a hearing set right away to get this over with,” said Arum. “Their contract is voidable. If it were up to me, I’d go to court next week and try to get an immediate ruling. But they’re delaying the hearing. They’re postponing the inevitable. It’s clear that they’ve infringed on our contract with Manny.”
But Schaefer denied Arum’s claim that Golden Boy is stonewalling.
“We are not the ones holding up the court,” said Schaefer, a Swiss banker who built Golden Boy with De la Hoya into a promotions giant in only five years. “We filed in Los Angeles first against Top Rank. Then, Top Rank filed against us in Las Vegas. Currently, it is being disputed where the lawsuit will be heard. If Arum is so anxious, he should simply drop the Vegas suit and consolidate all legal action in Los Angeles.”
Schaefer said he is certain Golden Boy will win over Top Rank in court.
“I believe in the court system and therefore, believe that we will win the legal case,” Schaefer told The Star. “A person cannot sign a deal and then simply renounce it and send back the money because someone else came along and offered a bigger sign-on bonus. If that kind of behavior would be tolerated, we would have a mess and contracts would become meaningless.”
Arum said he gave Golden Boy up to Friday to accept his offer for Barrera to fight Pacquiao in a rematch. A source intimated the initial offer of a $2.5-million purse for Barrera could increase to $3 million.
Schaefer doused cold water on Top Rank’s bid by rejecting the offer and setting a press conference on Jan. 25 in Los Angeles to announce that Barrera is defending his World Boxing Council superfeatherweight title against Juan Manuel Marquez in an HBO pay-per-view fight on March 17 in Las Vegas.
Despite the legal entanglement, Pacquiao was assured by Top Rank he will not be restrained from signing a contract for his next fight. Arum said if Barrera is not available for a rematch, Pacquiao will face a top 10 contender in Macau on April 28.
Arum said Pacquiao is in a win-win situation because he stands to earn a huge payday, no matter whom his next opponent is — whether Barrera or not.
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