Salita Promotions has filed a Motion for Contempt and Sanctions against boxer Shohjahon Ergashev and his manager Oleg Bogdanov for violating the Court’s Injunctive Order preventing him from fighting without the consent of his promoter. The boxer and manager have requested additional time to respond to the motion and/or settle the issue.
Background on this issue can be found here.
The motion stems from an injunction obtained by the boxer’s promoter which would have prevented him from participating in a fight in Russia.
Motion and Order Re TRO by MMA Payout
The court had stopped a fight in Russia set for September due to the fact that it was not promoted by Salita Promotions. Despite the court order, Ergashev went through with a fight against Dzmitry Miliusha on November 16 in Krasnogorsk. Ergashev won and announced another fight in Russia outside of the scope of the promoter yet again.
The promoter’s counsel has made attempts to notify Ergashev and the the athletic commissions in Russia to stop the events from happening. But it appears that they are receiving no help at all.
Payout Perspective:
The parties appear to be negotiating some sort of settlement at the moment but this incident reflects the amount of authority a contract may have in other countries. The court in the U.S. ruled that Ergashev fighting in Russia without authority of his promoter was outside the bounds of the agreement and a breach of contract. Yet, there needs to be an authority to prevent Ergashev from fighting in Russia or any other place outside the scope of the U.S. While the contract indicated it was worldwide in scope, how ‘worldwide’ is it if they cannot enforce it. Certainly, Ergashev may have trouble finding a fight in the U.S. due to the Court order but U.S. courts have a hard time enforcing jurisdiction outside of the country and especially in Russia. MPO will continue to follow.
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