A lawsuit was filed in New Jersey Superior Court against an upstart boxing company, Ring City USA by Greg Cohen. The lawsuit claims that the company left him out of the partnership while taking his idea.
The lawsuit claims that Cohen, a boxing promoter, would be a part of an upstart boxing promotion that would focus on the regional scene in the sport rather than attempting to compete with the other named promotions for talent. It would use fighters that were not affiliated with any promoter, build the talent, gain momentum through small venues and regions and own the rights to sell to regional sports networks.
Not helping his credibility, Cohen spent time in federal prison on an unrelated matter per the lawsuit.
Cohen met with Frank Samuel, who owns and operates a part of Offabbot, Inc. a media production company that created Ring City, USA. According to the Complaint, Offabbot Sports is the company that operates Ring City, USA. Cohen met with Samuel in May 2018 after a Showtime event in Philadelphia. Cohen claims that the two discussed and agreed to combine the companies to create a “New Boxing Business.”
Boxing attorney and podcaster Kurt Emhoff was added to the company along with another podcaster Evan Rutkowski (known as Fistiandos Podcast). They were also sued by Cohen.
Cohen claims that he helped create a detailed business plan, a portion of which was put into a Business Presentation (presumably for prospective investors and/or networks). He also introduced Samuel and Offabbott to other promoters. The plan includes a list of investors. One of which is Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh.
Cohen claims that he was left out of a partnership despite initially coming up with a business plan. He claims that the partners named in the lawsuit breached an oral promise for Cohen to be a member of the partnership. In addition to several other claims Cohen has as a result of being excluded from the partnership, he requests that the court order that he be made a part of the partnership and be entitled to future profits of the business and any businesses arising out of Ring City, USA.
Payout Perspective:
The lawsuit is as interesting as the business plan that Ring City, USA intends to implement. The business plan seeks to focus on the regional circuit and staying away from sports networks/promoter rivalries. They advocated for no “showcase” or “busy” fights where there are obvious mismatches in matchmaking to the advantage of one fighter. The business plan sought to have events every other week so that it would not compete with other sports including other boxing or MMA events. As for its media it hopes to sell, it is looking to the regional sports networks as well as national streaming rights via Facebook, YouTube, and/or Hulu.
Cohen essentially claims that he was excluded from a partnership after he was used for information to develop a business plan. He does claim that he provided the input and has the necessary contacts in the business with fighters. The claims are analogous to a lawsuit where someone sues another claiming they stole their idea for a movie or book. Those lawsuits tend to not favor the plaintiff as the likely counter argument is that the information was readily known and was the unique. The fact Cohen didn’t put the partnership in writing also hurts as well as his incarceration.
MPO will keep you posted.
Leave a Reply