Boxing promoter Greg Cohen is in trouble once again as a lawsuit filed in federal court in New Jersey spells out that he has not paid off loans made to him on behalf of representing boxers.
The plaintiff, Barry Honig and his company are suing Cohen, his promotional arm and Bulldog Boxing Promotions which Cohen is also said to be a part owner.
The lawsuit claims breach of contract and fraud that Cohen sought loans from Honig in order to fund his services for boxers which included fees for training, signing bonuses, etc. Honig claims that Cohen did not use the funds loaned to him and his promotion for boxers. Moreover, it appears that the funds were used elsewhere. The lawsuit also contends that some of the loaned money included special fees to the World Boxing Organization.
Despite demanding an accounting of the loaned money, Cohen has yet to supply that to Honig. The two executed a Standstill Agreement which acknowledged the debt. The two also agreed to Honig receiving a portion of the purse money from Cohen fighters as part of repayment.
Notably, the lawsuit discusses one of the funded fighters, Hasmin Rahman, Jr. While Honig was told that Bulldog Boxing Promotions would earn $40K from the fight, he learned that they actually received $120K for the fight.
Cohen, who has lost a jury verdict this year to one of his fighters, faces another legal battle here. One would surmise that Honig wanted to get into the boxing business and/or saw a lucrative opportunity. The continued trust and/or need to work with Cohen as money kept being loaned out to fund the boxers did not work. As an aside, the prepayment money to the WBA did not seem to help Cohen’s fighters gain an advantage in obtaining fights. Based on the documents in the lawsuit, the WBA were taking prepayment of sanctioning fees during the pandemic and in return promoters participating would receive a credit. The payments also relate to another lawsuit Cohen is in with Clifford Mass. As plaintiffs point out, this can be construed as bribes to rank fighters higher than others.
Cohen seems to be in a real predicament right now. While he still has a chance to respond to this lawsuit. The legal bills are racking up against him. Moreover, the spillover from each lawsuit seems to be weaving together. This lawsuit reflects the fact he has an unpaid debts of now over $2million. It also confirms payments to the WBA for alleged “prepayments” for sanctioning fees. We will see what comes next.
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