In 2007, New Jersey based promoter Ricardo Salazar head of One More Round Enterprises, filed a lawsuit against current IBF Jr. Featherweight champion Steve Molitor alleging breach of contract. In the lawsuit filed in Ontario Superior Court Salazar claims, that manager James Jardine and promoter Allan Tremblay have cut him out of a contract signed on August 18, 2005. Molitor, who is half French Canadian and Puerto Rican is a native of Ontario. Molitor captured the IBF super-bantamweight title on November 10, 2007 with a fifth-round TKO victory over Michael Hunter in England. Since then “The Canadian Kid” has successfully defended his crown four times.
Now word has come down of a possible November 21ST junior featherweight title unification bout between Molitor (27-0, 10KOs) and WBA champion Celestino Caballero (29-2, 20KOs). Warriors Boxing head chief Leon Margules and Molitor's promoter Allan Trembley recently met to finalize the deal and the contracts were signed. Molitor must first get by undefeated Ceferino Dario Labarda (18-0, 7KOs), on August 29th. Showtime is the leading candidate to televise the fight, but a legal battle lead by Salazar is set to cast a large shadow over the fight. The following is a letter sent to Showtime and those parties involved.
Dear Gordon,
I hope you have had a few hours to relax after a busy weekend in the Cayman Islands and in Hollywood , FL. I am writing you because of the recent column penned by ESPN.com writer Dan Rafael in which he states that the Showtime Network will likely televise Steve Molitor vs. Celestino Caballero in the event that Molitor is successful in his August defense against Argentine Caferino Labarda.
Please be advised that my company, One More Round Enterprises, Inc. (OMR), holds the worldwide promotional rights of IBF Jr. Featherweight Champion Steve “The Canadian Kid” Molitor. This includes 100% of the broadcast rights worldwide and 50% of any Canadian broadcast. The only rights OMR does not own are the rights to promote him in Canada, the United Kingdom and Western New York State. Any fight, either live or broadcast live or on a delay-basis, in the United States or any other country belongs solely to OMR. You might not be aware, but a $10 million lawsuit was filed early last year in Ontario, Canada, for breach of contract which it’s currently in the Discovery stages. The current Team Molitor actually filed a counter claim against me/OMR in May 2007 in Newark Federal Court. This claim was vigorously defended and it was subsequently thrown out by Newark Federal Judge Susan Wiggenton. As a result, they have been forced to stay out of the U.S. They can’t fight in the United States so they have been fighting, exclusively, in Canada ever since the Honorable Judge Wiggenton issued her order.
I really don’t want to put you or the prestigious Showtime Network in the middle of a lawsuit involving the parties of the current legal action against Molitor et. al. I am simply, out of courtesy, giving you information ahead of time so that Showtime knows that I will not let any network televise a fight involving Molitor here in the U.S. Molitor’s manager and promoter (James Jardine and Allan Tremblay) are very aware of this and they've already seen the result when they tried to pull a fast one here in the U.S. They quickly went back to Canada with their tails in between their legs and it will happen again if they think I will just sit and let this happen without anyone being held accountable.
If you have any question or concern, please don’t hesitate to let me know. However, please accept this letter as a formal notification.
I hope you have a great week,
Ricardo Salazar
M
Send questions and comments to: spjr21@yahoo.com
