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[patscorpio]

That dude Rapacz is always on twitter running his mouth too

Rob Brant sues promoter Greg Cohen; accuses him of pocketing $100,000 step-aside fee - BoxingTalk

ROB BRANT SUES PROMOTER GREG COHEN; ACCUSES HIM OF POCKETING $100,000 STEP-ASIDE FEE
By Scott Shaffer 16/04/2021

Rob Brant sues promoter Greg Cohen; accuses him of pocketing $100,000 step-aside fee
Middleweight Rob Brant sued promoters Greg Cohen and Cory Rapacz in federal court in Nevada on Thursday, accusing them of fraud, violation of the Muhammad Ali Act and unjust enrichment among other things. Cohen was convicted of fraud and served a few monthis in prison last year. He is currently being sued by another boxer, Mladen Miljas as well as an investor in his promotional company. Brant, a former WBA regular champion, accused Cohen and Rapacz of lying about the details of a co-promotional deal with Top Rank and pocketing several hundreds of thousands of dollars without Brant's knowledge. The Muhammad Ali Act makes it illegal for a promoter to receive compensation without disclosing it to the boxer. More specifically, the lawsuit alleges that Brant was told by Cohen and Rapacz that they would receive no more than 11% of Brant's purses from Top Rank, but instead Top Rank paid them a $100,000 signing bonus and $400,000 per title defense that Brant only found out about later. Brant had two title defenses: Khasan Baysangurov and Ryota Murata, but the lawsuit is unclear as to whether there were one or two payments of $400,000. The lawsuit also alleges that Ryota Murata paid a $100,000 step-aside fee to avoid a third fight against Brant, but that money was, according to the lawsuit, kept from Brant.

Here are Brant's allegations, taken directly from his lawsuit, with only light editing to remove some legal terms:

Brant began his professional boxing career in 2012 and currently has a pro record of 26-2. He held the WBA [regular] middleweight title from October 2018 through July 2019. In 2015, Brant entered into a promotional contract with Greg Cohen Promotions, LLC, a New Jersey limited liability company. That agreement was amended in April of 2018 when Rapacz Boxing LLC and Greg Cohen Boxing, LLC entered into an agreement to partner in promoting Brant. [The lawsuit alleges that] at the same time, Cohen knew he was under federal investigation for fraud but, failed to disclose that fact despite having a contractual obligation to “operate and negotiate in good faith at all times.” [Cohen was later convicted of fraud and served time in 2020].

Brant won the WBA [regular] middleweight championship, defeating Ryota Murata on October 20, 2018. That event was primarily promoted by Top Rank, Inc. and was held in Las Vegas. In November of 2018, Brant learned that Top Rank wished to sign him to a promotional contract. Cohen demanded that all negotiations flow through him. Brant desired to proceed with Top Rank as his promoter because Top Rank is a major promotional entity with a generally good reputation in the industry whereas [according to the lawsuit] Cohen, has a generally poor reputation.

Brant was out of the United States on his honeymoon while negotiations took place. Upon his return he was informed by Cohen that there was an immediate deadline to execute the paperwork with Top Rank or it would “walk away”, precluding adequate time for review of the contract. Brant signed two documents. One was a release of prior promotional agreements and the second was a co-promotional agreement. Greg Cohen Promotions, LLC was not a party to the co-promotional agreement; instead it was with Greg Cohen individually. [The lawsuit alleges] this was done to avoid creditors of Greg Cohen Promotions, LLC.

[The lawsuit alleges that Cohen and Rapacz] informed Brant’s manager that under the Top Rank deal, they would be receiving approximately 11% of the funds available for Brant’s purse. [The lawsuit alleges] that was a lie and in point of fact, Cohen and Rapacz entered into an agreement with Top Rank which entitled them to a fee of $400,000 for each title defense plus, for non-pay-per-view bouts, 30% of what would otherwise be available for Brant, plus compensation for any fighter in which Top Rank held an interest who might defeat Brant, plus a $100,000 signing bonus.[The lawsuit alleges that] Rapacz and Cohen failed to disclose these and other facts to Brant, and all were contrary to the representation that they would be receiving only 11% of the funds available for Brant’s purse.

Brant had a rematch against Murata on July 12, 2019. A third bout against Murata was promised to Brant and indeed there was a rematch clause in the contract between Top Rank and Murata’s promoter. For the second bout in a row, Cohen and did not provide a Muhammad Ali Act statement to Brant as required by federal law. Brant lost the rematch to Murata. He sought to exercise the rematch clause for a third fight vs. Murata. [According to the lawsuit], numerous reasons were given by Cohen and Rapacz not to pursue the rematch at that time. As part of these discussions, Brant and his representatives asked very directly if “step aside” money was available. [According to the lawsuit], Cohen and Rapacz represented that it was not. [According to the lawsuit], this was untrue and Brant later learned that $100,000.00) was paid "to or on behalf of" Cohen and Rapacz, characterized by a Cohen employee as a “step aside fee.”

The lawsuit demands that Brant receive his financial damages and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial; that the court void Cohen and Rapacz's rights under the Top Rank co-promotional agreement; and that Brant be awarded attorneys' fees.

So that's the reason Brant has been out of the ring for as long as he has

 

[patscorpio]

That was no gift it was a close fight and not people I watched with had Barrios winning by a point

sure seems to be a good amount of articles and opinions that say otherwise...myself i had akhmedov winning by 2...114-112..either way there was suppose to be a run back ordered by the WBA because of it that never happened

 

[patscorpio]

Good question -- let's say from 2019- the present. When each entity really became established as we know them today.

The thought was spurred in my mind after realizing how excited I generally get for Top Rank cards, as they have produced exciting fights since the pandemic started.

Matchroom found a good niche with adding women fights to their undercards.

While PBC cards tend to bore me a little more. They were doing pretty well pre pandemic though.

they all have their pros and cons

TR and GB have it down to a science with regards to making a card intriguing to watch from the prelim card to the main card. TR with their prospects, GB with a good amount of fade bringers in its stable.. problem is Bob gets in the way on the fights that need to be made after a certain point..Oscar sometimes be too much in his own world (i.e cocaine) rather than focus on his promotion

Matchroom def found a niche with the women's fights and the domestic fade bringers but their cards have a high hit or miss factor on its undercards..there are more "Canelo vs Yildirim/Haney vs Gamboa" cards than "Joshua vs Ruiz 1" in terms of quality due to some of the "prospects" Eddie has signed..moreso in the US than UK

PBC does have a legitimate matchmaking problem which makes it worse considering the roster they have..when they get it right its moreso on its lower profile cards rather than the ones that have their bigger stars....those lower profile cards have been entertaining as fukk at times

 

[patscorpio]

Jermall

i wonder if there is going to be more smoke over this? triple gawd and andrade got plenty of it....esp from the ppl who were defending mall against the truth i was spitting about his options following his fight with derevyanchenko

sidenote i think its funny murata gets no smoke because its accepted he is a weak champion off rip

 

[Loose]

Not sure if it's been talked about , but it's obvious pbc basically just waited for crowds for all of their fighters. That's really concerning that the business couldn't sustain without crowds like the other promotional companies

I won't like the Fulton winner fight and the jermell fight out of all the Showtime announced that's sad

How would you rank the fight cards put together by Top Rank, Matchroom and PBC?

I/e rank 1-3, who has put the best cards overall between:

PBC (Showtime/Fox)
Top Rank (ESPN)
Matchroom (DAZN)

Last two years ?
Dazn/Top rank




Then


Somewhere down here pbc


Its not even close, pbc is looking funny in the light

 

[patscorpio]

had to look dude up. didn't think i ever saw him fight before but i saw him fight that redhead cowboy guy for sure
at least it'll be some interesting measurables for Tank to look at i guess

this is his most talked about fight..on the porter-spence card

 

[aceboon]

 

[malbaker86]

this is his most talked about fight..on the porter-spence card

i remember watching this (was toooo faded to watch the main event) & it was a gift imo for Barrios. Gift is a strong word & i felt he lost

 

[Dallas' 4 Eva]

If it's gonna be in Houston I may go.

 

[L68]

Yuriorkis Gamboa in another title fight Lmao

 

[Knockout_LR_Freshmart]

 

[desjardins]

this is his most talked about fight..on the porter-spence card

yea i must have saw this too cause i saw that card. the fact i barely remember this dude exists can't be good (considering he's a champion of some sort)

 

[The axe murderer]

i wonder if there is going to be more smoke over this? triple gawd and andrade got plenty of it....esp from the ppl who were defending mall against the truth i was spitting about his options following his fight with derevyanchenko

sidenote i think its funny murata gets no smoke because its accepted he is a weak champion off rip

Murat def ripe for the picking to these guys. Triple g and charlo would crack that iron chin

 

[Bigblackted4]

sure seems to be a good amount of articles and opinions that say otherwise...myself i had akhmedov winning by 2...114-112..either way there was suppose to be a run back ordered by the WBA because of it that never happened

I do think it should have been ran back though.

 

[Bigblackted4]

i remember watching this (was toooo faded to watch the main event) & it was a gift imo for Barrios. Gift is a strong word & i felt he lost

You too, this was no gift. Barrios won the first four rounds with a KD and the 12 with a KD. All he needs is 1 other round to win.