"It's about fairness, and the way in which Top Rank's contract is written, it violates the law because all of the extensions and the different things that are encompassed within the contract go well beyond not only the 7-year, but also the way in which they operate. They also operate as a manager, as defined by California law, and they go beyond that term, in addition to the violations of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act and knowing or having any idea of what Top Rank is making off him...Mikey's a really smart guy and all he really wants is fairness. That doesn't mean that Mikey wouldn't sit down; if Top Rank was fair and read their own contract, on the face of the contract, he should be out of the contract," stated Bryan Freedman, lawyer of WBO super featherweight champion Mikey Garcia, who talked about the lawsuit that was filed against Top Rank. Check it out!
BT: Bryan, I got a chance to take a look at Mikey's lawsuit. There's a lot of interesting points in there. Can you kind of just summarize what the whole situation is about?
BF: I can tell you what the situation is about. It's about fairness, and the way in which Top Rank's contract is written, it violates the law because all of the extensions and the different things that are encompassed within the contract go well beyond not only the 7-year, but also the way in which they operate. They also operate as a manager, as defined by California law, and they go beyond that term, in addition to the violations of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act and knowing or having any idea of what Top Rank is making off him.
BT: So they never provide Mikey with any documentation about the money they're making off of him?
BF: No. Not anything that complies with the Act. It's the source; it's one more time Top Rank saying we can do whatever we want and we can take advantage of whatever fighter we choose to take advantage of and extend their contract for as long as we want to, not withstanding what the law allows. You know, Mikey's a really smart guy and all he really wants is fairness. That doesn't mean that Mikey wouldn't sit down; if Top Rank was fair and read their own contract, on the face of the contract, he should be out of the contract. It's about fairness.
BT: You used some choice words in the lawsuit. You basically said, per their contract, Mikey Garcia is an indentured servant.
BF: Yep. That's exactly right. You know, look, Top Rank should be smart about this whole thing. They should read their own contract and see it goes beyond the face of what it can be and they should say, "Hey, you know, Mikey, we're sorry. Let's sit down and see if we can negotiate a new contract." I mean, that's what they should do. Because, look, at the end of the day, the contract's only going to last for so long. Even if they have an interpretation of what it is, it's still going to end, and why would they lock themselves out of the marketplace to be in a discussion with maybe one of the most attractive fighters in the next five years.
BT: Has there been any response from Top Rank yet?
BF: There has been a response that they believe that Mikey is still under contract.
BT: Obviously Top Rank's not happy about all of this. I saw Mikey was given tickets in the nosebleed seats this past weekend at Pacquiao-Bradley 2. It looks like they are ready to go to war.
BF: Well, I'll tell you one thing, the war only lasts so long, right? So you can go to war all you want, but you're going to lose the battle. Whether you lose the battle in 3 months, whether you lose the battle in 6 months, whether you lose the battle in one year, you're going to lose the battle.
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