Golden Boy Boxing has filed an emergency restraining order to prevent Vergil Ortiz from signing a fight with Jaron “Boots” Ennis. Golden Boy is also seeking the Ortiz lawsuit to be moved to arbitration.
The situation arises out of a lawsuit filed by Vergil Ortiz last month. Ortiz alleged that Golden Boy breached his promotional contract with him because the company could not secure a distribution arrangement with DAZN or an alternative broadcaster. He specifically cites the clause which notes that Golden Boy’s broadcast platform was a reason for signing the contract. Without it, Ortiz decided to file the lawsuit to get out of the contract.
Golden Boy filed a Motion to Compel Arbitration citing an arbitration provision in the promotional contract which kicks any disagreement within the contract to arbitration instead of filing a lawsuit.
In addition, Golden Boy filed the Temporary Restraining Order preventing Ortiz from signing a deal with Ennis that would not include Golden Boy as the promoter.
Golden Boy also places blame on Ortiz’s manager, Rick Mirigian, who they claim was communicating with Sela Sports about the Ennis fight and seeking other buyers for it.
Payout Perspective:
We will know in short time whether the Court grants the Temporary Restraining Order. These orders are usually done quickly and you can infer are “temporary.” The most important part of a TRO is whether there will be “irreparable harm” and if it would be immediate. Obviously, the signing of a fight without the promoter would constitute harm. From there, the fight will be over whether the restraining order will be permanent. Also, the issue of compelling arbitration will be another hurdle prior to getting to any merits of the lawsuit. The legal maneuvering this week reflects the discontent of Ortiz and Golden Boy in attempting to get a big fight done.
Leave a Reply