Earlier this month, Khazakstan boxer, Daniyar Yeleussinov, filed a lawsuit against his managers in Broward County, Florida. The former Olympian claims Boxing Star, LLC comprised of Elvis Crepo, Ziya Aliyev and Joseph Quiambao deprived him of fight opportunities and threatened potential promoters of signing the boxer.
In addition to the lawsuit, he has filed a motion for a temporary injunction which would release him from his contractual obligations with his current management team.
The lawsuit, filed on May 5th in Broward County, Florida claims that Daniyar filed a 5-year deal with Boxing Star, LLC. The issues appeared to arise when his deal with Matchroom Boxing was set to expire. Instead of attempting to negotiate for an extension, his managers were interested in signing with Probellum according to the Complaint. While not named, the inference was Daniel Kinahan was pulling the strings to sign Daniyar.
Daniyar entered into an agreement with Boxing Star, LLC on February 28, 2018. The Agreement was to manage the boxing career, seek endorsements and other income producing non-boxing activities on behalf of Daniyar. The agreement included that his managers advise Daniyar of all their “endeavors” they make on his behalf. Boxing Star, LLC would receive 20% of the gross income for his participation in boxing matches and 25% of “all income generated from his participation in his non-boxing activities.”
The contract was for a “term of five (5) years, and if during the term of the Agreement Daniyar becomes rated in the top fifteen (15) by the WBC, WBA, IBF, WBO or IBO in their rankings, ther term of the Agreement would be extended for an additional term of two (2) years.” Also, Boxing Star, LLC required written consent before Daniyar could enter into any contract to “boxing or non-boxing opportunities.”
Daniyar claimed the breach of the contract based on the following:
He also claimed that Boxing Star, LLC interfered with a business relationship in claiming that they interfered with the possibility of renewing his promotional contract with Matchroom Boxing.
The injunction hearing will not occur until August.
Payout Perspective:
This is another example of the continued plight that boxers find themselves in from unsavory managers. The contract restricts Daniyar if he does well moving up the ranks as it automatically adds 2 years to his 5 year contract. And while the manager clause requiring it to agree to Daniyar entering into any sponsor contract may seem protective of the fighter it can also be seen as limiting his ability to market himself and rely solely on the managers. The lawsuit infers that the managers were tied to Probellum to promote his fights rather than seek the best offers for the fighter.
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