Enigmatic boxing manager, Al Haymon, has had a big year. His newest venture, Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), started in January and has since aired on NBC, NBC Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, CBS, FOX Sports 1, FOX Deportes, Spike TV and Bounce TV. Not a bad start for a new boxing promotion...er...series.
While Haymon would describe PBC as "a boxing series that returns the sweet science to its rightful place atop the sports pantheon" with bouts "promoted by licensed promoters, with each bout in accordance with applicable regulatory rules and regulations," Golden Boy Promotions and Top Rank would beg to differ. They've each sued Haymon this year for monopolizing the promoter market.
Golden Boy and Top Rank claim Haymon's used his power as one of boxing's dominant mangers to also acquire dominance as a promoter in a way that will eventually "pay less to boxers and reap massive profits." With the backing of asset management and financial advisory firm, Waddell & Reed Financial, they believe Haymon acts as a manager and a promoter, in violation of the Muhammad Ali Act, and has also violated U.S. antitrust laws by
(1) inducing professional boxers to enter unlawful "tie out" agreements, which prevent the boxers from "freely" or "independently" contracting with legitimate promoters; (2) illegally acting as a promoter and fraudulently operating in the promotion business through a network of "sham promoters;" (3) blocking legitimate promoters' access to major venues through fraud, overbooking, and other unlawful means; and (4) utilizing predatory "payola" practices, i.e., preventing legitimate promoters from access to television broadcasters through exclusive dealing, overbooking, and other unlawful means.
Throw in the fact that Golden Boy basically admitted Haymon duped them to obtain the rights to his "premium fighters" with a "fraudulent plan," and it's easy to see why they're upset.
Both promotions filed separate lawsuits two months apart, but the cases are related in the same courthouse with the same judge. Golden Boy's has effectively been on pause while Haymon's motion to dismiss the Top Rank action is decided, and the decision came down yesterday. Haymon wins - for now.
Judge John F. Walter of the Central District of California dismissed the core components of Top Rank's case, with leave to amend and re-file, while permanently dismissing the entire case against Waddell & Reed Financial.
The judge's decision can be roughly summarized as a failure to allege sufficient facts. He's required to accept Top Rank's allegations as true but they must at least satisfy antitrust standards, and this is where things came up short.
When you compete, you injure other competitors, so any injury has to be one in which the antitrust laws are intended to prevent. The judge found "that Top Rank has not adequately alleged injury to itself, which is not only an element of antitrust injury, but also of Article III standing...Without any additional factual allegations, the Court cannot determine whether Top Rank has alleged an injury-in-fact, let alone whether that injury flows from that which makes the conduct unlawful."
Probably of more interest to boxing fans, the judge concluded that Top Rank failed to adequately allege that Haymon has market power in the managerial or promoter markets. Think of market power as the ability to jack up prices and screw over customers. As a manager, this would be charging higher fees to fighters. As a promoter, this would be paying boxers less and charging higher prices to TV networks, sponsors and fans. The judge called Top Rank's allegations "completely disconnected" in the managerial market and "even weaker, more speculative, and virtually non-existent" in the promoter market.
This ruling probably comes as a surprise to many boxing fans who think Al Haymon should be the answer to Beyonce's question, "Who runs the world?" But the standards for antitrust liability are very specific and aren't met by simply saying, "Trust me, this dude controls everything." The judge has given Top Rank, and effectively Golden Boy, an opportunity to amend its claims, and therefore another chance for the case to move forward.
Perhaps Al Haymon runs the boxing world right now, but if Top Rank and Golden Boy have their say, he won't for long.
Paul is Bloody Elbow's analytics writer and former provider of expert witness support in antitrust cases. Follow him @MMAanalytics.