Calzaghe 'believed Warren had taken advantage of him for years' The undefeated world boxing champion Joe Calzaghe believed his former manager and promoter Frank Warren had taken advantage of him for years, his lawyer told the High Court today. Ian Mill QC, representing Calzaghe, said in papers put before the judge, Mr Justice Wyn Williams, that by November 2007 the 10-year relationship between the pair "had clearly deteriorated significantly, at least as far as Mr Calzaghe was concerned". "Mr Calzaghe felt that Mr Warren had taken advantage of him for a number of years and Mr Calzaghe wanted to extricate himself from his management and promotional relationships with Mr Warren." Warren, through his company Sports Network, is claiming £1m damages from the boxer for breach of an alleged oral agreement in January 2008 that he should promote further fights after an existing contract expired. Calzaghe denies there was any agreement. He is claiming $3,897,505 (£2.7m) in damages from Warren who, he says, has not paid him his profit share from the Bernard Hopkins fight in April 2008. Mill said it was "inherently implausible" that an important agreement for Warren to promote more fights for Calzaghe would not have been recorded in writing, as all previous contracts had been. "It is inherently implausible that Mr Calzaghe, who was utterly disillusioned with Mr Warren by this time, would have agreed to allow Sports Network to promote him for any future fights." He said it was only after the boxer brought in accountants to audit his profit share from the Hopkins fight that Warren alleged there had been a verbal contract to promote more bouts. "This timing suggests that the alleged oral agreement was a fabrication created for the purpose of justifying the non-payment to Mr Calzaghe of his monies. Mr Warren is seeking to ensure that Mr Calzaghe receives no part of the monies which are indisputably owed to him." Mill said that, under a 2004 contract between the boxer and Sports Network, Calzaghe agreed to a "minimum" purse of £600,000 for four fights for the super- middleweight title. "Mr Calzaghe in fact only ever received the guaranteed minimum purse for his fights under this contract." He added: "Mr Calzaghe increasingly felt that having Mr Warren and Sports Network as his manager and promoter operated to his financial detriment." When the boxer was about to defend his title against Jeff Lacy, he was told by Warren that if he wanted it to go ahead, he would have to sign a written contract giving Sports Network the right to promote another three fights, said Mill. Calzaghe felt he had little choice but to sign, said Mill. But after this contract came to an end, Warren asked him to sign a new contract with the "clear threat" that if he did not, he would lose a television broadcasting deal. "Mr Calzaghe was extremely unhappy with, and resented, the way in which Mr Warren had manipulated him into signing this new promotional contact." On 19 April 2008, Calzaghe won the fight under that contract against Hopkins for which he received from Sports Network £1m and US tax payment of $1,728,000 (£1.2m), said Mill. "He has received nothing further," said Mill. Calzaghe is expected to give evidence tomorrow. http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2009/feb/25/boxing-joe-calzaghe-frank-warren-high-court
Fair enough comments about Warren...his way of managing fighters is well known but don't me Calzaghe was so scared of losing a TV deal he signed the contract after having having had serious doubts the last time around. After he first got uncomfortable anyone with sense would have put feelers out and had a deal with another promoter lined up ready when the first 3 fight contract expired. Don't tell me that as an undefeated world champion he couldn't have had his pick of promoters with fresh TV deals - especially after the Lacy fight. I'm afraid Warren was the easy option and JC took it. Warren should damn well pay him the money though.
Its so obvious that the co/promoter deal that Warren offered Calzaghe after the Kessler fight was just designed to head off this type of lawsuit and keep control of Calzaghes career until he retired.
Frank is a corrupt little ****. God that man pisses me off. He had Clazaghe by the balls there by the sounds of it.
I can understand the split if money is an issue. Promoters are only after 1 thing so it wouldn't 't surprise me if Warren owed him money. but JC should not complain about his career with Warren, Calzaghe could have got the fights if he had pushed hard enough. Warren is a clever man despite his general twattyness. He wanted Calzaghe to fight Pavlik, Calzaghe chose to fight Roy Jones.
It does sound though that Calzaghe chose to fight Jones and be in control on the money rather than fight Pavlik and have to work with Warren and another American promoter?
Thats were Fish face Franks moaning about disloyalty crap(Hatton,Calzaghe)falls down. Future Options on other fighters; He's happy to promote and make money in the future from any guys who beat his fighters.....great example of loyalty that isnt it?Im sure his fighters would take great comfort in knowing at least Fish face will benefit if they lose.He's alright Jack. To him its just good business,but his fighters are meant to be loyal,before business minded. Tosser.
An ORAL agreement in Jan 2008!! :roll: As our American friends would say "Get the **** outta here with that ****!", an oral agreement is as good as the paper it wasn't written on. Oh but but but you said, we even shook hands and did a terrorist fist bump to make it official. :|
I think in this instance Joe has been incredibly naive, in allowing himself to be manipulated so badly. If you sign a contract, you are bound by the terms and conditions of that contract. Did anyone put a gun to his head and force him to do it? He could quite easily have called Warren's bluff and said no..... let's face it, he was marketable, PPV-worthy and always did well at the gate. As for the TV deal, he ought to have looked at what Ricky Hatton was doing post-Warren. Selling his own TV deal, so there was no haggling with a promoter (in that instance Hobson) for his slice of the money. Had he employed proper legal representation, he would have set out clauses within the contract, stating the additional monies that were to be paid over and above the guarantee of £600k should the promotion be successful, obviously more £££ for a better show. Signing the contract and then bitching about it seems rather silly to me.
He is naive for sure, that's why he got bumped by Mickey Duff in his early career, great fighter but no business man and very easily misled. Unfortunately for him he just swapped one shark for another in duff for Warren. Warren does the smae **** every time a top fighter wants to leave him. He'll get what's coming to hime one day.
Ultimately I think Warren looked after Calzaghe but did what he want cos Joe was easy to manipulate. Joe got £600k for ****s sake. He wasn't a name, he was fighting at home, he was fighting average opponents etc That is good money.
Warren tried the same with Hatton, claimed a 'verbal' agreement tied Hatton in for 3 more fights after Tszyu The court docs surfaced on the net - they were amateurish beyond belief and were never ever going to hold up in court I was genuinely shocked at how 'toytown' the whole thing was
