Boxer Devin Haney has sued Ryan Garcia and Golden Boy Promotions for battery, fraud and unjust enrichment as a result of Haney’s fight with Garcia this past April. Garcia’s drug test came up positive for a banned substance which the fighter denies any wrongdoing.
The lawsuit filed in Federal Court in New York on Friday claims that Garcia’s behavior during fight week was unprofessional as well as missing the contracted weight in which he missed by 3.5 pounds and drank what looked to be a beer on the ceremonial scale.
Golden Boy Promotions has been sued by Haney since they were the promoters of Garcia.
Notably, the battery claims stems from the allegation that Haney did not sign up to fight a guy that was using Performance Enhancing Drugs. This is the same claim that was filed by Mark Hunt
From the Mark Hunt appeal I analyzed last year:
The Court cited cases wherein the consent to participate in the sport was deemed withdrawn “if an offensive contact is not substantially the same as what was expected.” The two cases looked at situations where the injured person did not foresee the peril of the danger (found they exceeded expectations) that awaited them and therefore never consented to such risk. Here, Hunt knowingly entered the Octagon against Lesnar and there was nothing extraordinary about Lesnar’s actions which Hunt was not aware. Thus, the claim failed.
Payout Perspective:
While this Court may not have seen the Hunt case, I would assume that the overarching legal theory remains the same. “Was the offensive contact (battery) substantially the same as what was expected?” So, Haney would have to prove that Garcia did something outside the scope of normal boxing to prove this action. Garcia did not hit Haney with a chair, kick Haney or used hardened wraps or gloves. Thus, the claim, while unique, probably does not pass a motion to dismiss. MPO will continue to follow.
Leave a Reply