Damon Martin of MMAWeekly is reporting that last weekend’s Shine Fights 3: World’s Collide was canceled not because the main event was nixed by a court injunction, but because Shine Fights failed to both ensure a doctor was present at the event and that all purse money was paid to the commission in advance of the fights starting.
“There were concerns about fighter safety and well being, that’s why the fight was canceled,” said Merriweather on Monday. “What we’re talking about specifically is failing to have a doctor at the event, at the time for the fighters to be seen before the fights had started.”
Pike and Merriweather confirmed that in North Carolina it’s the responsibility of the promotion to provide the doctor, and one was not on scene for the fights on Saturday. A financial problem arose as well, as the members of the Boxing Authority explained.
“North Carolina rules and (regulations) require the promoter to have all purse amounts to the boxing authority two hours before the first match-up, and those requirements were not met,” said Merriweather.
Payout Perspective:
It’s an unfortunate situation that Shine Fights finds itself in and yet another example of just how difficult this business can be.
There are a lot of people pointing the finger at Don King right now; had he filed the injunction earlier (or not at all) the show could have be rescheduled and perhaps none of these oversights would have occurred. However, I think the ultimate responsibility lies with Shine.
Any time you sign a fighter to a contract, you have to be aware of many things: his other contractual obligations; how those obligations might impact the ability of the fighter to perform under your contract; and what sort of liability you expose yourself to by interfering with any potential obligations the fighter has under those prior contracts. It’s easy to say now, sure, but in the case of Mayorga we were all well aware of his contractual dispute with Don King last Fall.
Hopefully this is a lesson learned and Shine has enough cash to continue forward.
No “Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery Payout Perspective”?
Sorry MV, no PP on the latest Strikeforce card.
The website issues have been frustrating and I’m reluctant to produce too much content right now. Further, I’m getting into the nitty gritty of this final term of my first year in the MBA.
I’m hoping things are back to normal in another week or so…fingers crossed.
Ok. Good luck Kelsey.
I had heard that the promoter was on his way to the arena from the jurisdiction the injunction was being heard in with the bond, but aside from that this is the first I’ve heard of the lack of doctor and that’s just completely inexcusable on the promoters part.
King had to post the bond in-case Shine gets a ruling in their favor later, but I’m not sure if they were required to argue laches/unclean hands argument at the hearing (basically saying King knew of this and should have argued either) or if they can argue it in the future. I am an attorney but have never had this situation presented to me so I’m unfamiliar with the nitty gritty of the process in this case.
A couple comments.
1) Since the commission prevented the event from taking place. Does that mean KInd cant lose and be responsible for danages since apparently the event wouldnt have taken place anyway? Now he has a good arguement IMO.
2) What kind of an effect does thing like this event being canceled have on MMA. This is why,imo, comp in MMA isnt good. Shine had how mant thousands of fans at this event. Many people travel and spent lots of money, etc. Only to be screwed over by a irresponsible mma promotion. This goes back to the biggest problem with anyone who isnt the UFC. They have nothing invested in the sport to act responsible. Success at all cost(cost of the sport?) attitude and a short window to achieve it is a bad combo. As we have seen even those with the money dont have long term goals. Its hard to imagine how many fans Shine turned off to MMA, many who may have been boxing fans experiencing MMA for the first time with Mayorga on the card. Yet this things happen a lot. A promoter stole the event money at a Sturgus event years ago. But this isnt a small event. When you are on PPV and are promoting big name fighters like they did. The sport cant afford piss poor promoters who dont give a damn about anything.