The Peterson Brothers's recent signing with Top Rank is apparently not completely a done deal. ESPN.com's Dan Rafael is reporting that the Petersons and trainer/co-manager Barry Hunter signed the deal without the input of the other co-manager, Shelly Finkel. And now it looks like the case will go to arbitration.
Finkel, who was negotiating a similar contract with Golden Boy Promotions, told Rafael that Hunter refused to allow him the opportunity to review the contracts they signed.
"They signed with Top Rank without my consent, negotiated without me and kept me out of it when I requested to see the deal before and after they agreed to it," Finkel told Rafael. "I am confident that my rights will be upheld and I'm sorry it has come to this because I have a lot of admiration for the Petersons, and for Barry Hunter for what he has done to help these kids in their life."
Rafael said Finkel's agreement with Hunter says they have equal input in decisions regarding the Petersons' careers. He said Hunter has not returned any of his telephone calls or e-mails, leaving him with "no choice" but to file an action against the fighters and Hunter with the American Arbitration Association, which their contract calls for in the event of a dispute.
"I am requesting that my contract be upheld and they be stopped from violating it in the future," Finkel said, adding that his managerial deal with them runs through September 2009.
In the ESPN.com article, Finkel said his objection was not that they signed with Top Rank, with whom he has other fighters as well as an extremely strained relationship with company chairman Bob Arum. Finkel said his issue was that they signed without letting him review the deal, which included $100,000 signing bonuses for each fighter. He said Golden Boy offered a signing package worth almost double.
"I know I could have made the [Top Rank] deal better. I'm sure there are some loopholes," said Finkel, who said he is asking for $300,000 in damages. "We may end up doing the deal with Arum, but I know I could have gotten more. You bid people against each other and come up with the best deal, but Barry didn't do that and he didn't ask me."
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25 comments:
Berrie you have really messed this kids up! Why in the world would you go behind Shelly's back and do something so stupid? Shelly told you in the office right along with Raymond Brown what he had planned and you snuck around and made calls on your own. Now you wonder why those boys are upset with you. Did you think you could hide this from them? You have taken cold advantage of the situtation. I know that you received %175.000 for yourself. However, if you would have waited, you also could have gotten more. Shelly treated you good and you tried to screw him. Now those young men are being put on hold because of your stupity. Do you realize how mad Fredrick is with you? He is not one that I would want angry with me. I just hope it is not too late to get these brothers back on track. You need to do the right thing and think of them and not yourself. Everyone is well aware of your dishonest ways. Wake Up!
If you do not get it right, you are going to wind up with nothing.
You also need to consider Deborah's feelings about all this.
She is very upset right now and knows that you did all of them wrong.
Finkel is too damn smart. You have messed up big time.
This turned out to be a very sad day on the beltway for the boxing community. I've always heard Barry was doing underhanded things towards these kids and the most horrible part is they TRUST you Barry. You have done some good but most for you and your family to benefit not the Peterson brothers. Stay on the porch where you belong, not out in the yard with the big dogs. Well every dog has it's day and you will pay the piper royally.... Now these kids will have to pay 300k before they even get a chance to enjoy the measily 100k you signed for. Who wouldn't want to fight on an undercard of Oscar De La Hoya??? Not smart, not smart at all.
Digital, what are your thoughts on this?
Frankly, I don't know what to make of this yet. I may give my thoughts in my next Youcastr show. But I have to talk to some folks first.
What are you folks talking about. Shelly Finkel is greedy as hell. He is the guy who is wrong not Barry. Finkel is a scumbag. Flat out.
when finkel signed on as co-manager with hunter, he was backed by an investor from memphis that paid in excess of 300k. none of that money went to hunter or the pete. bros., it simply went into finkels pocket. and for that he deserves 50% of their management for four years.
this is what is the worst about this blog- when a whole lot of folks weigh in with mindless answers about business that they know noting about. so why don't we all shut up and just read the legal transcripts and when it all comes out we will know reasonably close to the truth of what went on. up until that point all that is said is hearsay and all it does is hurt people. and that goes as well for gary. he should just report the facts as they come out in court; ie. just give the audience the truth, not more of the bull that is floating around.
Boxing is set up in a way that you either have to or are made to believe you have to go through certain people -- Finkel, Shaw, DiBella, Arum, King, etc. -- to get to where you want to go. They are the gatekeepers and they get very rich off the sweat and blood and life force of boxers. If you can win a title outside of this hierarchy, you are doing very well for yourself. I am not passing judgment on whether the setup is good or bad, but it certainly is in place. That said, if you sign a contract with any of these people, you would be wise to honor it as long as they are holding up their end. Boxers who are inexperienced in business need honest representatives who really understand contracts and contact law, and people with that knowledge are in short supply in this game. The ones who devote themselves to it scrupulously can rise to the top. It should be pretty obvious, though, if you sign with Shelly Finkel, for better or worse, you honor the contract.
Message to boxers: If you don't trust your circle 100 percent to do the right thing, reach outside of it, to people who have no interest in owning a part of you, to find someone to do the right thing. If that means stepping outside of your comfort zone, your insulated world, that's part of growing up. Don't get played by people who see you as a meal ticket. You're the one doing the fighting.
What fool would give Finkel 300K without getting no money themselves? That just does not sound right. In fact, you are making Mr. Hunter look like a retard for doing something like that to the Peterson Brothers.
Furthermore, it is you that has made Mr. Hunter look like the fool,
not the others. Perhaps you need to check on things further. Now I ask the question did Mr. Hunter receive some funds that the Peterson brothers are not aware of?
sounds like a true statement there
Gary you are the best!!!!!
All of you bloggers are idiots. Shelly Finkel accepted alot of money and in return he promised that he could get the petersons to sign with PFP. Shelly is the snake. Hes upset becuase he has to give the money back that he accepted under the table back. Thats what he gets for continuing to keep the money to himself. There was no 300k offer,.Hes using that to justify why Barry should have waited..Boxers have to start negotiating for themselves stop going through the big 4 /5 promoters and managers. The promoters and managers get together and exchange money never giving the boxer his cut.. Its about time that we BArry step outside the ring and make the deals ourselves....He did not get a cut of that money the boys got 100k a piece and thats better what shelly could have done first the 300k is fictional. and shelly would keep 50% for himself and say he only negotiated for 150K F..ck Finkle step outside of the ring and do your own negotiating.
Yup i say that he was robbing them blind...they can do bad by themselves
and no they wouldnt be at the ballroom or where ever you think thats the problem....your probably a promoter...u wanna make like boxers cant do it without u. There are great boxers in that camp that they dont need'em petersons, barnett, thompson, guerro,
if i was a boxer or i had a boxer-i wood sine with shelly finkel in a hurtbeat.
Ok - let me first say that I definitely don't believe everything the media puts out there and I don't trust that what has been reported is an attempt to spin the general public into believe Finkel is in the right. He hasn't been successful in for many years because he's a saint. . . .
I just wanted to remind everyone what a blog is? It is short for web long and defined as a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary.
In other words, it is a forum for discussion - good or bad. Even the newspapers aren't 100% factual. A blog doesn't even pretend to be. It is made up of COMMENTARY, which includes OPINIONS. I don't agree with a lot of comments on this site, but that's the great thing about America - you still have the right to voice your own opinion.
I hope that all parties involved in this situation realize that most comments should just be ignored.
Hey Gary! - Can you turn on the blog feature that shows people's real names and locations? If you don't know how, I will show you.
Haha. I'm kidding, but I'm sure some of you posters are hoping that it doesn't exists! Anonymity is such a powerful tool.
Gary tried that before and hardly antone left a comment. It was very boring. Keep the good work Gary. You are doing great.
Squirrel, I remember. I was just messin with people. It would be interesting if people who posted as "anonymous" were still able to be identified.
Only Gary knows who the anonymous folks are.
Not really. Gary can't even tell. . .but hey that's how you really get to learn what people are thinking and how they really feel.
I hope it all works out for the Peterson's. They are really great people and they deserve to be rewarded for all the dedication and hard work.
I would love to see Chris Middendorf way in with some wisdom on this topic. -- J.S.
excuse me: "weigh in" -- j.s.
Thanks for the request John, but it seems clear that there are some issues here that only the participants know what really happened. I am unfamiliar with the arbitration process and in particular whether the process is on the public record. I am hoping that it is and that the real truth of this situation will come out.
Like any business we are a business where information is king. The Peterson Brothers vs. Finkel will hopefully reveal much to other fighters about what works and what does not work; what is an equitable relationship between fighter/manager and promoter and what is not; where a fighter is vulnerable and where the manager is vulnerable. One immediately assumes that Finkel is the big bad wolf here in dealing with the Peterson brothers who were not far removed from living on the street. But lets see how it plays out and really listen to both sides. We should all learn a lot.
And hopefully this information will help us all in working out relationships that are good for all parties. Its just too bad its not on reality tv. It would be far more interesting than the behind the scenes contender baloney!
If manager "A" can get you a $100,000 bonus and makes sure you get all it...
And manager "B" gets you $300,000 but is going to poscket a $100,000 for himself on the side...
Which is the correct manager to go with?
No question- manager A as he is telling you the truth. If B will screw you now when the numbers are like this, what happens if the numbers get really big? And the nature of boxing is that it all comes out in the wash and how are you going to feel about your manager B when you find out that he took the $200,000.?
No, he only takes a $100,000... You take home double with him even though he ends up with a sizeable chunk for himself.
Here's a real life example...
This foreign world champ was making his second appearance on HBO and his overseas promoters were paying him $250,000.
However, a countryman of his starts negotiating for him and gets his well-connected lawyer friend into the deal.
Right before the fight, the lawyer friend sits down with his HBO buddies and gets $400,000 right off the bat. Then squeezes out another $100,000 for the fighter on the day of the fight, the reason for which I cannot remember.
The fighter's buddy made off with a bonus in the high five figures and who knows what his lawyer buddy made out with.
Does it really pay to stay loyal when you're represented by people with mediocre negotiating skills?
Just curious...
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