ABC and Boxrec named in antitrust lawsuit | Special Episode Part 2

To their credit, since their formation, as background, in fairness the lawsuit states "the ABC has been a positive force in boxing and has been responsible for removing a lot of the shenanigans in the sport, removing boxer fraud, standardizing rules, and implementing practical solutions based on the Professional Boxing Safety Act and the Muhammad Ali Act."

The lawsuit continues: "Thanks to Senator John McCain, the Professional Boxing Safety Act was passed in 1996. Pursuant to the Professional Boxing Safety Act, the ABC was tasked with the maintenance of professional boxing records and the creation or selection of a boxing register to that end, and eventually selected BoxRec in 2016, on belief and information to act as official boxing register, taxed with maintaining the ABC’s boxing database as well as all recordkeeping mandated under the Boxing Acts."

According to Paragraph162, "For people in the boxing business such as Plaintiffs (promoters, managers, matchmakers, athletic commissions, and sanctioning bodies all around the world), BoxRec is an essential tool that is used to find opponents, to track medical suspensions, and to record fight card results once the last bell has rung." Continuing in the next paragraph 163: "Matchmakers also use BoxRec ratings and records to handicap fighters and otherwise determine which matches to make fights."

There have been issues with the database over the years and these have been brought to the attention of leaders in the sport and legislators, including "a 2017 complaint to the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which had jurisdiction over enforcing the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act." As stated in other episodes in August 2016, shortly after the appointment of BoxRec as the official registry, then ABC President Michael Mazzulli was presented with the allegations of BoxRec's failings.

In the lawsuit, with respect to antitrust and other alleged issues arising from the monopoly, "by the ABC’s own admission, it has given BoxRec free reign to function as it pleases with absolutely no oversight or accountability."

#TalkinFight #BoxingNews #ABC #Boxrec #Lawsuit