GL: I got your email Dennis. Tell us about it, what would you like to say? "I'm going to give you some facts and some information that hasn't been made public. We filed an amended complaint against the WBC on July 2 and it's a multi-billion dollar lawsuit based upon their behavior and their shameless and disgraceful actions that they've taken to marginalize and disrespect Maskaev and selectively enforce the rules when it comes to Don King. Sometimes, like many others before me in the past, I stayed quiet, but I think it would be best for everyone in boxing if I can just let it all hang out. They're not dealing with the meek or the weak, or those who lack the wherewithal to finally clean this situation up. When Jose Sulaiman's lips are moving, Don King's voice is coming out."
"When Duva Boxing won the purse bid we raised an issue about both King and Duva bidding since they both have an interest in Samuel Peter. The WBC said the lower of the two bids would be dropped. Duva defaults on his bid and even though King's bid was supposed to be dropped suddenly it is enforceable again?"
GL: So your gripe is that you guys were next in line after King so why aren't you controlling the promotion if his bid was supposed to have been dropped prior to Duva's default, correct?Dennis Rappaport: "Exactly. And the second thing was, Duva put out a check for $320,000 and that check bounces without them notifying us or contacting my lawyer. And if you ever saw the paper trail here your mouth would drop. They're doubletalking they're hiding, the whole nine yards. After the check is bounced, they notified us that the funds weren't available. The money might not have been credited to their account, but after a week they should have known whether or not the check bounced. The answer would seem to be obvious. Either they held the check and didn't deposit it and when they told us they had the funds, they didn't. Or it bounced and they resubmitted the check. Prior to that, they didn't even try to make it look good. When they asked for more than the ninety days, not only did they not contact the champion or his representatives, they never asked for any imput from us, it was automatically given to them and they told us after the fax."
"On Thursday, July 5, they sent me a letter saying that I must cooperate with King because they gave me a directive, and the contracts must be in Monday. I waited Thursday and Friday for the contracts. The deadline was up, and on Monday I get a faxed contract, which was after their deadline by the way, and obviously they couldn't have received a contract from us, because King never sent us a contract prior to that. So our attorney's write a letter. They say it's clear he's in default. We don't think he put the 10%, and if he did he backdated the check, but that would come up in discovery.
"We want the WBC's position. Do you find them in default, and does Rappaport have the right to promote the fight? And I'm still waiting for an answer. My lawyer wrote to them and they would not give us a response. Finally we get a contract from King and the contract is filled with all sorts of problems, but forgetting even about that, you can't, according to WBC purse rules have contingencies in the contract. First of all you can't say the contract is subject to TV and flexible to a site because they already committed to a site.
"The WBC knows what's going on here, and we're simply waiting for a ruling. If they rule against us, we'll eventually have a fight in court. All of a sudden Sulaiman, on July 9, he tries to make two calls to me. I really didn't want to have any conversation on the phone, so then nobody could lie later. I wanted to avoid the bullshit, so I wanted it in writing. I wrote him this letter on July 10. "When I returned home last night and received a telephone message from you, it is our position that Don King Productions is in material breach default of its obligations with the WBC's purse bid rules, as well as the written directives from the WBC. For this reason we believe King should be disqualified as the promoter of the Maskaev-Peter bout. There is a clear pattern of breach and default from Duva Boxing and his partner Don King Productions.
It is disgraceful for the WBC to accept default after default, and breach after breach, and then make special exceptions for those same parties. We have made a demand to the WBC that Rappaport Productions be granted the promotional rights to the Maskaev-Peter title fight. King's flimsy excuse of not having my email address is somewhere between absurd and ridiculous. He could have looked at correspondence from the WBC with my email included. He could have called his partner Dino Duva, who has my email address. He could have called you or your son Mauricio. It is utterly clear that Don King Productions is not taking the WBC directives presented to him in a serious and dilligent manner, acting as though there's a double standard. One for everyone else, and one for Don King Productions. We're awaiting from the WBC a response to my attorney's emails dated July 8, and two more on July 9. Once we receive this response, I will discuss with you any matter you choose."
M
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