Boxing Podcast With Stephen Espinoza

My guest on this podcast is the President of Showtime Sports and Event Programming - Stephen Espinoza.  I talked to him about the great 2018 Showtime had; what's coming up in 2019; life after Les Moonves; the Wilder-Fury and Pacquiao-Broner PPVs and what criteria he uses to determine what goes on PPV.  We also discussed the possibility of Showtime doing tournaments similar to the WBSS and Stephen's role as a possible conscience of the sport.  It was a great conversation - hope you enjoy!

Check out what's going on at Showtime Boxing at the following link:  https://www.sho.com/sports/fights

This podcast is distributed by the Leave It In The Ring network.  I'm honored to join the LIITR network that includes 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 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.

Mayweather Legal Update

Floyd Mayweather's team is known as the The Money Team (TMT) and of course, where there is money, you'll find litigation.  Currently, there are a number of matters pending involving Floyd Mayweather, either directly or indirectly.

Floyd Sr. gets sued for $20M by former publicist

Let's start with the latest involving Floyd's father, Floyd Mayweather, Sr.  As reported by Paul Gift in Forbes, Ann Barlow, a former publicist for Floyd Sr., is suing him for breach of contract stemming from a public relations and consulting services contract Sr. signed with her.  According to the Forbes article, in 2015, Sr. had sued Barlow over the same agreement, claiming that she had tricked him into signing it, when he really wanted help setting up a nonprofit foundation for sarcoidosis (which he is suffering from).  Sr. dropped the suit but Barlow is now suing him for breach and claiming over $20M in damages.

Showtime looking to consolidate Mayweather-McGregor Streaming Suits in NY

Showtime filed a motion to transfer and centralize eight lawsuits in five different federal districts regarding the loss of streaming services for the Mayweather-McGregor bout to the Federal Court in the Southern District of New York.  The suits allege that either Showtime or affiliate companies of the UFC which offered the Mayweather-McGregor PPV via streaming service, sold a defective product that prevented purchasers from watching the event.

See Showtime's motion below:



Mayweather Promotions files for Default Judgment in "Philthy Rich" trademark dispute

In August 2017, Mayweather Promotions, LLC ("MP") filed an opposition to rapper Phillip Anthony Beasley's attempt to trademark his nom de rap "Philthy Rich".  MP had previously registered the name of Floyd's record label "Philthy Rich Records" with the PTO.  Beasley was required to file an answer to the opposition by October 9, 2017.  Having failed to do so, MP moved for a default judgment before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board ("TTAB").

See the default motion below:



Ticketmaster sues scalpers for using bots to buy tickets to events, incl., Mayweather-Pacquiao

Ticketmaster is claiming $10M in damages in a suit it brought against Prestige and other secondary ticket brokers for the use of "bots" that buy in bulk tickets available to the public.  The suit alleges the brokers then resell the tickets at a significant markup.  Ticketmaster alleges that the bots were able to circumvent the site's security features and restrictions on tickets per customer to do mass buys for many prominent events.  The suit alleges that the bots purchased the "majority of the tickets available through Ticketmaster" for the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. 

See the complaint below:

Multi-District Litigation In Re: Mayweather-Pacquiao PPV Dismissed

On August 25, 2017, in the United States District Court, Central District of California, Judge R. Gary Klausner issued an opinion dismissing all of the claims filed in 26 individual actions and 15 consolidated complaints alleging that Defendants Floyd Mayweather, Mayweather Promotions, LLC, Manny Pacquiao, Top Rank, Inc., Michael Koncz, Bob Arum, Todd DuBeouf and HBO all concealed Pacquiao's shoulder injury and mislead the buying public into paying for the fight that they would not have otherwise purchased.

Judge Klausner ruled that letting these claims stand would "disrupt the nature and integrity of competitive sports."   Judge Klausner used the doctrine known as the "license approach" in determining the legal rights of the ticket purchasers.  Under this doctrine, "a ticket to a sporting event gives the purchaser 'nothing more than a revocable license' to view what transpires at the ticketed event, regardless of prior promises or representations about the performance."

Judge Klausner held that "a misrepresentation or omission implicates the core of athletic competitions, and therefore does not constitute a cognizable injury to a legally protected interest under the license approach, if it is related to: (A) competitive strategy, or (B) the quality or outcome of competitive performance." Judge Klausner then reasoned that all of the alleged misrepresentations of the Defendants in regards to Pacquiao's injury fell under either competitive strategy or the quality of the performance.

"The Court is sympathetic to the fact that many boxing fans felt deceived by the statements and omissions made by the fight's participants and promoter.  The proper remedy for such unscrupulous behavior when it implicates the core of athletic competition, however, is not a legal one.  Disappointed fans may demand that fighters be more transparent in the future, lobby their state athletic commissions to impose more stringent pre-fight medical screenings and disclosure requirements, or even stop watching boxing altogether. They may not, however, sustain a class-action lawsuit."

"In this case, Plaintiffs ultimately received what they paid for, namely: the right to view a boxing match between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, sanctioned and regulated by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Plaintiffs had no legally protected interest or right to see an exciting fight, a fight between two totally healthy and fully prepared boxers, or a fight that lived up to the significant pre-fight hype."

See Judge Klausner's opinion below: