Saturday, April 27, 2019

Boxing Podcast With Bob Yalen

My guest on this podcast is Connecticut Boxing Hall of Famer, six-time sports Emmy award-winner and new President of MTK Global Management, Bob Yalen.  We spoke about the future of MTK's top fighters Tyson Fury, Carl Frampton and Billy Joe Saunders.  We also spoke about MTK's broadcast deals with ESPN and IFL TV. 

We then got into Bob's rich experience in the sport as a researcher for Flash Gordon, The Ring Record Book and Fight Fax.  We also talked about his time as head of boxing programming at ABC and ESPN networks and as the Chairman of the WBC Ratings Committee.  We closed with a discussion of the state of televised boxing today.

It was a really informative conversation.  Enjoy!

This podcast is presented by The Ring.  I'm honored to be working with The Ring and my good friend, Doug Fischer, the Editor-in-Chief.  You can find the podcast on the website at Ringtv.com.

This podcast is distributed by the Leave It In The Ring podcast network.  The LIITR network also includes great podcasts by founder David Duenez, Gabriel Montoya and Evan Rutkowski.

You can still find this podcast and older Boxing Esq. podcasts on this blog and on Soundcloud or subscribe to the Boxing Esq. Podcast on either iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher.  If you enjoy the podcasts, please leave a comment or rating, that would be greatly appreciated.  The podcast will appear on both the LIITR network of podcasts as well as under the Boxing Esq. Podcast name.

Sunday, April 14, 2019

Boxing Podcast With Steve Farhood

My guest on this podcast is Hall of Fame boxing writer and television commentator, Steve Farhood.  We spoke about Steve's experience growing up in NYC in the 1970's and his first job out of college with London Publishing, where he founded the legendary KO Magazine.  We also spoke about his time as Editor-in-Chief of The Ring Magazine and his nearly 20 years as an expert analyst on ShoBox.  Steve also gave his insights on the state of game, where women's boxing is going and who he thinks will win the major fights in the next few months.

It was a great conversation.  Enjoy!

This podcast is presented by The Ring.  I'm honored to be working with The Ring and my good friend, Doug Fischer, the Editor-in-Chief.  You can find the podcast on the website at Ringtv.com.

This podcast is distributed by the Leave It In The Ring podcast network.  The LIITR network also includes great podcasts by founder David Duenez, Gabriel Montoya and Evan Rutkowski.

You can still find this podcast and older Boxing Esq. podcasts on this blog and on Soundcloud or subscribe to the Boxing Esq. Podcast on either iTunes, Spotify or Stitcher.  If you enjoy the podcasts, please leave a comment or rating, that would be greatly appreciated.  The podcast will appear on both the LIITR network of podcasts as well as under the Boxing Esq. Podcast name.


Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Mago Counsel Seeks Expedition Of Trial Date Due To Visa Concerns

An interesting issue was recently raised in a letter to the Court from plaintiff's counsel Paul Edelstein in the Magomed Abdusalamov ("Mago") case.  Edelstein is trying to secure a trial date for Mago in New York Supreme Court, Kings County, before he has to file a petition for another extension of his visa to stay in the United States.  The major concern is whether Mago will be granted another visa extension in order to stay in the US for the trial.  The Court has currently scheduled the case for a trial assignment conference on July 16, 2019.  Edelstein is requesting a trial date prior to June 2019, the deadline for submission of the next visa extension application. 

If you are unfamiliar with Mago's case, he was injured by hard forearm to the face in the first round in his bout with Mike Perez at Madison Square Garden on November 2, 2013.  Mago went the distance with Perez but lost in a very physical and competitive bout.  Commission doctors examined him in his dressing room and allowed him to leave the arena. Soon after leaving, he started vomiting and was taken via taxi to the hospital where he was diagnosed with a subdural hematoma. He was placed in an induced coma and had surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain.

Mago, 38, is currently paralyzed on the right side of his body.  His speech is severely impaired and doctors have stated he may never walk again.

Mago was originally granted a P-1 work status visa as an internationally recognized athlete, presumably in early 2009 when he first fought in the US.  Once he was injured in the Perez fight, he petitioned and was granted a B-2 visa - which is a tourist visa.  Edelstein states in the letter that the change in status was granted due in large part to his need to participate in the pending lawsuit and his serious medical needs.  The B-2 has been repeatedly extended each time for a six-month period.  The December 2018 petition for extension has not yet been decided on.

Edelstein is particularly concerned about Mago's visa status because his case has been transferred to an office in Nebraska.  The office has a more "conservative reputation" than the prior office in Vermont.

The suit was originally filed in 2014 and named many members of the New York State Athletic Commission as well as the promoter K2 and the venue MSG.  All defendants have been dismissed except for the ringside doctors who were working that night.  Mago's attorneys first filed a note of issue with the Court, signaling they are ready for trial, on June 29, 2017. 

See the letter to the Court below:

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Middendorf Wins Judgment For Over $500,000 Against Top Rank In Crawford Contract Dispute

Chris Middendorf's company Middendorf Sports won a judgment of $520,296.87 plus prejudgment interest in its suit against Top Rank in U.S. Federal Court, District of Nebraska, over their contractual percentage owed on Terence Crawford's purses for title defenses.  Judge John Gerrard issued the opinion on Sunday.

This suit was brought in January 2017 after Top Rank stopped paying a fee equal to 8% of Crawford's title defense purses which they contracted to pay Middendorf in an Agreement and Release that enabled Crawford to sign with Top Rank back in 2011.

The Court found that the language in the Agreement and Release was "unambiguous" that "Top Rank is obliged to pay Middendorf eight percent of Crawford's 'purse' for any Crawford "title defense" that Top Rank promotes pursuant to a promotional rights agreement."  The Court determined that the obligation to pay the fee did not terminate when Top Rank signed Crawford to an Exclusive Restated Promotional Agreement in 2014.  The Court had essentially made this determination in its opinion on Top Rank's motion for summary judgment back in April 2018.

The parties still had a dispute over the meaning of the terms "purse" and "title defense" and recently went to trial over these issues. 

Top Rank argued that the term "purse" did not include additional revenues from gate participation that were paid to Crawford. The Court disagreed and held that gate participation was also part of the purse. The Court found that the term "purse", within the meaning of the Agreement and Release, meant "simply the remuneration paid to Crawford."

Regarding the meaning of the term "title defense", Top Rank argued that a "unification bout" did not come under the definition of a "title defense" and was a separate type of bout where no fees were owed to Middendorf.  The Court found that "Top Rank's argument that the categories of "title defense" and "unification bout" are mutually exclusive is not supported by the evidence."  The Court reasoned that a bout can be both a unification and a title defense.

No word on whether Top Rank will appeal.

See the Court's Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law:
See the Judgment:

Boxing Esq. Podcast #66 - Eric Raskin

Excited to have one of my all-time favorite boxing writers on the pod this week, Eric Raskin from boxingscene.com (formerly of the excellent...