Golden Boy Suspended by New York Athletic Commission

for cheating Ortiz and Cambell out of 500 grand, brought to my attention by Victor on ESPN sucks site

http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/8156/exclusive-golden-boy-promotions-suspended-commission/



By George Kimball



NEW YORK --- In recent years Golden Boy Promotions' relationship with the boxing world has often seemed a case of the tail wagging the dog. Between an ever-expanding client list, a cozy relationship with HBO, the nation's most powerful cable conglomerate, and institutional control over ratings and even "championships" through its ownership of the onetime "bible of boxing," The Ring, the multi-tentacled Las Vegas-based company has increasingly appeared to call the tune for U.S. regulatory bodies as well, cajoling GBP-friendly state commissions and bullying those displaying a more independent streak.



But last week one of them bared its own teeth. The 90 year-old New York State Athletic Commission has placed Golden Boy on suspension, meaning that the firm, its Teutonic CEO Richard Schaefer, and its figurehead and namesake Oscar De La Hoya have been indefinitely barred from conducting business in the Empire State.



The unprecedented action was taken after a Friday hearing, which found Golden Boy guilty of deceptive and fraudulent practices in direct violation of the federal Muhammad Ali Act, in connection with the May 15 Amir Khan-Paulie Malignaggi card at the Madison Square Garden Theatre.



The disciplinary action came as a result of some creative accounting with the co-featured bout of that night's show, in which Kansas prospect Victor Ortiz won a unanimous decision over 38 year-old former lightweight champion Nate Campbell. Although HBO had agreed to underwrite a total purse of $750,000 for the fight, Campbell was paid just $125,000, Ortiz ($100,000) even less. The half-million dollar discrepancy was apparently concealed from both of the boxers, and, had Golden Boy had its way, would have been concealed from the NYSAC as well, but unlike some of its brethren commissions, New York refused to roll over and play dead.



The Ali act prohibits concealing such usurious arrangements from the hired help - ie, the boxers; moreover, to be in compliance with the statute, Golden Boy would have had to file the contractual particulars with either the NYSAC or with the Association of Boxing Commissioners. It did neither, and further incurred the wrath of the commission by ignoring repeated demands for the paperwork.



What happened to the missing half-mil remains a matter of conjecture, but there are really only three possibilities, in my opinion.



One, obviously, is that Golden Boy simply skimmed the money off the top and lined its own coffers.



Another is that Golden Boy, which had earlier poached, in the opinion of some fight game insiders, Ortiz and Campbell from their previous promoters, used the part of the windfall produced by short-changing the fighters to pay reparations to Bob Arum (Ortiz) and Don King (Campbell). If that was indeed the case, money used to stave off potential lawsuits is supposed to come from the promoter's end, not by dipping into the boxers' purses.



The third possibility is that Golden Boy had so overreached in its guarantee to Khan (on a night when there were nearly 1,000 unsold seats in the Theatre) that they made up the difference by diverting two-thirds of the intended Ortiz-Campbell purse to keep the Boy from Bolton happy. Should that prove to be the case, the New York suspension could only be the beginning of Golden Boy's worries: Golden Boy's contract with DiBella Entertainment for the Khan-Malignaggi main event called for a 60/40 split of all such revenues.



If it were proven that the missing money was funneled straight to Khan, and concealed from Malignaggi and DiBella, it could well expose Schaefer and Golden Boy to criminal charges.



Whatever the purpose of the manipulation of the Ortiz-Campbell purse might have been, it seems inconceivable that the deceit could have taken place without HBO's knowledge, but - even though they bankroll Golden Boy's shows and exercise the right of approval in selecting opponents - the network is technically not a "promoter" and is hence not subject to the provisions of the Ali act.



By the same token, it seems extremely unlikely that the skullduggery could have taken place without some complicity on the part of Shelly Finkel, who was both Ortiz' de facto manager and a Golden Boy consultant. Even though Ortiz' name is included on the client list posted on his website, Finkel is technically an "advisor" and not a manager, and hence not subject to the normal constraints imposed by the Muhammad Ali act.



GBP was already in hot water with the New York commission as a result of the unseemly riot perpetrated by an army of Khan supporters who invaded the May 14 weigh-in, conducted at the Essex House on Central Park South. Although attendance at the weigh-in was supposed to be limited to NYSAC officials, the fighters and their camps, and the press, it seemed plain enough that the presence of an extra hundred or so hooligans had been encouraged by Golden Boy. Although Schaefer claimed to Chairman Melvina Lathan that he had no idea where the interlopers came from, Golden Boy had in fact stationed a pair of bikini-clad Tecate Girls to hand out hundreds of souvenir boxing-glove key-chains at the weigh-in.



Arranging safe passage to the weigh-in for the members of Khan's Army - and even lying about it after the fact - might have gotten Golden Boy slapped around a bit by the commission, but a tongue-lashing and perhaps a modest fine would have been the end of it. Given the magnitude of the irregularities which subsequently came to light, Golden Boy's part in the weigh-in fiasco was never even addressed at Friday's hearing.



The sanctioning of Golden Boy was defined as an "administrative suspension" in details that have already been forwarded to FightFax. Other state regulatory bodies are not automatically obligated to reciprocally honor the New York action. Rather, states entertaining requests for dates from Golden Boy are supposed to contact the NYSAC for an explanation of the particulars, after which they determine their own course of action.



Although some jurisdictions may cite the New York example and think better of approving future Golden Boy shows, the expectation is that in states where Schaefer & Co. already exert a profound influence, the suspension will not be an impediment. But Golden Boy has been put on notice that its days functioning as a law unto itself may be numbered.

Respect.

i think GBP should be ashamed Cambell could definitely use the money HE WAS OWED

Always good to see asshole promoters get put in their place.

agree NJ

I thought that for all their faults, GBP was supposed to be by the fighters for the fighters, but it looks no better than Arum or Don. At least those guys admit to being theives.

well interesting.maybe we see finaly one of the reasons ocar is non existent in negotiations and promoting the fight..they bit off more then they could chew and didnt have the honor to take the lumps and losses..its downhill for GB hopefully.

agree Dmar and NJ

this is bad for GBP the reason guys signed with them was cause they figured they wouldnt get fucked by them

paying 225,000 and pocketing 500,000 is FUCKED UP

NJBeatdown86 wrote:

I thought that for all their faults, GBP was supposed to be by the fighters for the fighters, but it looks no better than Arum or Don. At least those guys admit to being theives.

Hell is Arum as bad as GBP at this point? I have been disappointed in GBP. I really thought hey finally we have some fighters that might do some good for the sport. But instead we get this.

Shocking that the Ring Magazine website doesnt have this story up yet.

ahaha hey sick i said it a while back the Ring know has an agenda like everyone else and i got bashed for it

how am i sitting know?

Birdofthad wrote:

ahaha hey sick i said it a while back the Ring know has an agenda like everyone else and i got bashed for it

how am i sitting know?

To be honest, they havent been all Golden Boy.

SlickMoneyXL wrote:

Birdofthad wrote:

ahaha hey sick i said it a while back the Ring know has an agenda like everyone else and i got bashed for it

how am i sitting know?

To be honest, they havent been all Golden Boy.

I thought you left this forum Slick?

BTW Welcome Back.

Thank you NYSAC

what i mean slick is taht they have an agenda like any other ranking body

remember 10 years ago when winning the majority of the belts made you the Rings ranked Champ

Nate Cambell winning 3 straps agasint Diaz wouldve made him the number 1 lightweight, but nope Joel Cassamayor coming off the shittiest performance in a long time got that honor cause they decided to become a ranking org and not call it like it is

True but the decision was Casa winning

He was still the lineal champ (the lost it when KO'd by Dinamita), Campbell fucked himself over later on by blowing the weigh in vs Funeka

your right but i remember when a bad decision fight happened the guy that shouldve won would be ranked higher than the winner

Hard to rank a fighter over the guy who is still champ (even though he didnt deserve to be)

Still though, Ring Mag makes a lot of questionable calls in their rankings

They site really blows BTW, all its good for is the rankings which most people rip on lol

SlickMoneyXL wrote:

Shocking that the Ring Magazine website doesnt have this story up yet.

ESPN hasn't even broke the story yet, give them time.

Interesting to hear what BS Schaefer and DLH spit if any

The Ring never ranks anyone ahead of the lineal champ, even if it was a bullshit decision. In the case of Casa-Santa Cruz, they kept Casa on top even after he won the bad decision and Nate beat Diaz, but all the writers slagged on Casa and said that Cruz deserved an immediate re-match (which never happened after he got KTFO by Pitalua).

The Ring usually leans toward the more popular fighters, which mean Pac and Floyd.

Golden Boy Promotions believes that it is important to report the true facts concerning its 90 day suspension by the New York State Athletic Commission.

On July 9, 2010, Golden Boy learned that it had been suspended by the NYSAC for a period of 90 days. Although Golden Boy respectfully disagrees with one of the Commission's charges - that there was dishonesty on the part of a Golden Boy employee - Golden Boy does acknowledge that a number of significant, but innocent, mistakes were made in failing to make timely responses to legitimate information requests from the NYSAC. Golden Boy has now made all requested disclosures to the NYSAC.

Although innocent, these errors were not consistent with or reflective of Golden Boy's commitment to fairness, honesty and transparency in the sport of boxing. New York counsel for Golden Boy has already spoken to representatives of the NYSAC this morning, and has apologized for Golden Boy's mistakes.

At the outset, before explaining what transpired, it is important to dispel some false statements made by certain reporters concerning the suspension.

1. THE NYSAC'S SUSPENSION NOTICE DOES NOT ALLEGE OR SUGGEST ANY FINANCIAL MISCONDUCT ON THE PART OF GOLDEN BOY.

2. THE NYSAC'S SUSPENSION NOTICE DOES NOT ALLEGE OR SUGGEST THAT THE SUSPENSION IN ANY WAY RELATES TO THE LICENSE FEES PAID BY HBO FOR THE TWO TELEVISED BOUTS ON MAY 15, 2010. IN FACT, GOLDEN BOY DISCLOSED ITS CONTRACTS WITH HBO AND DIBELLA ENTERTAINMENT TO THE COMMISSION ON MAY 19, 2010 - JUST 4 DAYS AFTER THE MAY 15 EVENT.

3. DIBELLA ENTERTAINMENT HAS ALREADY INVESTIGATED THE LICENSE FEE "ISSUE," AND INFORMED GOLDEN BOY AND COUNSEL FOR MR. MALINAGGI THAT IT DOES NOT BELIEVE THAT THERE WERE ANY IRREGULARITIES.

4. NYSAC'S SUSPENSION NOTICE DOES NOT ALLEGE OR SUGGEST THAT GOLDEN BOY FAILED TO PROVIDE REQUIRED ALI ACT DISCLOSURES TO FIGHTERS ON THE MAY 15, 2010 CARD. TO THE CONTRARY, ALL SUCH DISCLOSURES WERE PROVIDED.

5. THE NYSAC SUSPENDED GOLDEN BOY WITHOUT FIRST GRANTING IT A HEARING OR A WARNING. HOWEVER, THE NYSAC WAS NOT IN ANY WAY OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE SUCH A HEARING OR WARNING.

The true facts are as follows:

1. Following the May 15, 2010 event, a Golden Boy employee apparently mistakenly informed the NYSAC that Golden Boy did not have any written agreements with the fighters other than the bout agreements for the bouts that took place on May 15. In fact, Golden Boy had written agreements with some of the fighters on the May 15 card. This was an innocent error made by someone who should not have made the representation without taking steps to ensure its accuracy.

2. On May 19, 2010, the NYSAC requested both the HBO and DiBella Agreements, as well as any written agreements between Golden Boy and the fighters on the May 15 card. As noted, Golden Boy immediately produced the HBO and DiBella Agreements. The GBP employee normally in charge of dealing with Commission matters, left for his honeymoon immediately following the May 15 event and was unable to be contacted, however, the person responding to the request erroneously questioned the NYSAC's authority to request copies of Golden Boy's promotional contracts, asked for the basis for the requests, and did not send those contracts. This was clear error on the part of the Golden Boy, as under all circumstances, the contracts should have been sent to the ABC.

3. Unfortunately, and despite other requests by the Commission, Golden Boy's response was inexcusably delayed.

4. On July 1, 2010, Golden Boy contacted the Commission by sending it an email which stated that the contracts did not have to be disclosed to the NYSAC because they would not be held confidential. According to counsel for the Commission, this conclusion as to the confidentiality of the requested disclosures issue was erroneous. In any event, Golden Boy erred in not immediately sending the contracts to the ABC at this point in time.

5. On July 6, 2010, the NYSAC, as it had the absolute right to do under its Rules, suspended Golden Boy without a hearing. At that point, Golden Boy immediately sent the requested contracts to the ABC. Today, upon the representation of counsel for the Commission that the requested contracts were not subject to public disclosure, Golden Boy sent all of the requested contracts to the NYSAC.

http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=29192

BTW Ring now have the story on their site, I told you to give them time.

oh gee I wonder who wrote the story ahaha

Birdofthad wrote:

oh gee I wonder who wrote the story ahaha

Michael Rosenthal
http://www.ringtv.com/blog/2105/nysac_suspends_golden_boy_for_90_days/