Cyclone / Frampton Court Case

[Ruthless-RKO]

Barry McGuigan reveals he suffered stroke in early days of Frampton management

Barry McGuigan suffered a stroke during the early stages of his management career with Carl Frampton, a court was told on Thursday.

Mr McGuigan revealed he experienced the medical condition in April, 2013 - the same year Cyclone Promotions - which was overseen by himself and members of his family - was set up.

The retired ex-professional boxer also said his former protege never discussed any issues he may have been having with him directly before their working partnership came to an end.

Mr Frampton (33) is suing over the alleged non-payment of up to £6m in purse fees, broadcasting rights, ticket sales and merchandising during their partnership.

Both Mr McGuigan and Cyclone Promotions are named as defendants. A counter-suit for breach of contract has been filed against the boxer. Both men deny any wrongdoing.

Mr McGuigan insisted Mr Frampton was "one of the family", telling the court Mr Frampton was made a director of his company so the fighter could see that everything was "open and honest".

"We were very open. The (Cyclone) office was above the gym," he told the judge.

"We wanted him to come and see anything that he wanted to see."

On Thursday the court was also told how Barry McGuigan could have secured Carl Frampton's dream of fighting for a world title at Windsor Park Stadium if they had stayed together.

Mr McGuigan also claimed the boxer was already negotiating an exit before he walked out on their relationship.

Completing six days in the witness box, the boxing manager said of Mr Frampton: "He was like one of the family."

Their split came after an ill-fated scheduled fight against Andres Gutierrez in July 2017.

That contest was ultimately called off when the Mexican slipped and injured himself in the shower on the eve of the bout.

Asked by his barrister, Liam McCollum QC, if he had any plans to severe ties with Mr Frampton at the time, Mr McGuigan replied: "No."

Instead, he said, the intention was to rearrange a fight against the same opponent that November and then set up a third contest with Leo Santaz Cruz the following spring.

Three potential locations were suggested: New York, Las Vegas or Windsor Park Stadium in Belfast - a venue Mr Frampton has often described as a dream venue.

During cross-examination on day 14 of the case, counsel for Mr Frampton challenged him on a proposed purse fee of £500,000.

"If that's a Belfast fight, that's an awful lot more than any purse you ever got for Mr Frampton in Belfast before, isn't it?" Gavin Millar QC contended.

Mr McGuigan replied: "We would have tried to put that on in Windsor, it would have been April-May time, that would have been an open air show, that would have been the objective."

He disagreed that his plans were all based on speculation.

"I'm pretty sure Carl would have beaten this guy (Gutierrez), would have looked good in doing so, and then would have had an opportunity to fight Leo Santa Cruz a third time, either at home in Windsor, or in New York or in Las Vegas," he said.

Part of Mr McGuigan's counter-claim involves an alleged loss of commission for the cancelled Gutierrez fight.

Mr Millar pressed him on how the boxer was liable for a contest that was called off.

"Because he walked out on his contract," Mr McGuigan said.

"I believe that he was negotiating leaving, and he was in the throes of walking away from us.

"He broke a contract where we had worked very hard for him for a long time, and did a magnificent job with him."

Mr Millar argued, however, that the claim was not due to his client's actions.

"It was Mr Gutierrez injury that caused that loss of commission," he submitted.

Mr McGuigan replied: "Mr Gutierrez injury caused the fight to be cancelled, yes."

The boxing manager was also quizzed about Mr Frampton's purse of around £145,000 for defeating world champion Kiko Martinez to take the super-bantamweight title in September 2014.

The Spaniard was paid $700,000 for the contest staged at Belfast's Titanic Quarter.

Insisting it had been "a very good purse" for Mr Frampton to secure a world title fight on home turf, Mr McGuigan said it was common for a challenger to be paid less.

Recalling his own boxing career when he famously defeated Eusebio Pedroza to become world champion in 1985, he said: "I fought for the world title, 27,000 people in Loftus Road, got £90,000 and Pedroza got £600,000.

"That regularly happens, the champion comes to the challenger's back yard, he gets paid lots of money and the challenger, for the opportunity to fight at home and a big chance of winning, gets paid considerably less."

The court heard Mr McGuigan negotiated a $1m purse for Mr Frampton to defend his title against Alejandro Gonzalez in El Paso, America.

"If you look at Carl Frampton's purses, and you look at the super-bantamweight division, in its history there has rarely been anybody that has earned more money than Carl Frampton," he said.

"That is something I'm very proud of. Those purses were extraordinary."

Before finishing his evidence, Mr Justice Huddleston asked if he ever directly approached Mr Frampton about their deteriorating relationship.

"We had many conversations," Mr McGuigan told him.

"The interesting thing was he never once said to me 'I'm unhappy', there were multiple opportunities for him to say that.

"I could have had a discussion, I'm a very good person and a very decent person, and I would have been able to resolve any problems he had, had he come and spoken to me about them, which he didn't."

The case was adjourned to next month.

[maverick23]

Adjourned to next month?! Carl’s not going to be fighting this year then.

The case is going on for a while - the lawyers will be enjoying the chargeable hours!

[Ruthless-RKO]

Adjourned to next month?! Carl’s not going to be fighting this year then.

The case is going on for a while - the lawyers will be enjoying the chargeable hours!

The Herring fight has already been nearly
Confirmed for next year anyway.

[steve689]

Frampton fighting Herring in December some are saying?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Frampton fighting Herring in December some are saying?

January

Last we heard. Herring was recovering from a scratched retina and cuts

[Ruthless-RKO]

Frampton's world title fight 'cost us over £500k': Blain McGuigan tells court

McGuigan's son tells court of Belfast bout bill and hits out at Frampton's new management

It cost over half a million pounds to persuade boxer Carl Frampton's world champion opponent to fight him in Belfast a second time, the High Court has heard.

On day 15 of the legal battle between former world champions Barry McGuigan and Mr Frampton, promoter Blain McGuigan also claimed that the fighter's current managerial advisers MTK Global had created "a fear of intimidation" within boxing.

Blain McGuigan, a son of Mr Frampton's former manager Barry, told the court yesterday how challenging it was for the family's Cyclone company to bring Spanish fighter Kiko Martinez to the Titanic Slipways for a bout in September 2014.

If Mr Frampton won that fight it would see him crowned IBF world super-bantamweight champion.

The fighter, nicknamed The Jackal, had beaten Martinez to win the European title at the Odyssey Arena the previous year, but Martinez later won the IBF crown, which increased his market value substantially.

"It was hard for us because we had to work out a way of generating enough revenue to cover that cost and also to make enough money to pay Carl a good purse as well," he said.

When asked by counsel for the family, Liam McCollum QC, if he could recall how much was agreed for the second Martinez fight, he itemised the bill for the court.

He said: "It was $700,000 (£543,000): $100,000 (£77,500) to Gary Shaw (a co-promoter); $100,000 to Sergio Martinez, who was his current manager; $100,000 to Sampson Lewkowicz, who was his current manager and promoter, and then $400,000 (£310,000) to Kiko Martinez himself."

The court heard it was Cyclone's obligation to pay Martinez, and the company's goal to minimise the costs as much as possible.

Blain McGuigan added: "But we understood the magnitude of the chance of getting Kiko back to Belfast considering he'd been stopped by Carl 16 months before that.

"So we obviously tried to keep his purse down as much as we could, but we had to get him back here... that was the main goal."

He said that by beating Martinez, Frampton "would become a world champion, which is every boxer's goal when they turn professional, and it was our goal to get Carl to that point in his career... there haven't been a huge amount of world champions from Northern Ireland so it was a big, big thing".

The eventual venue for the fight, which Mr Frampton won on points, was the Titanic Slipway, which could accommodate 16,000 spectators. Blain McGuigan told the court there were "logistical issues relating to that, and how the arena would be constructed and so on... because it was effectively just a big bit of tarmac; we had to build a stadium from scratch".

Mr Frampton, a dual-weight world champion, is suing his ex-manager and Cyclone Promotions for £6m in alleged withheld earnings. In a counter-suit, Barry McGuigan is claiming £4m against his one-time fighter for breach of contract when he ended their partnership in 2017.

Both men deny the respective allegations against them.

Blain McGuigan denied any money was ever concealed from Mr Frampton.

And he defended their handling of the 33-year-old Tigers Bay native during their nine-year relationship.

When asked by counsel to compare financial deals they secured for Mr Frampton's big contests to what other promoters could have offered, Blain McGuigan replied they were "far greater".

"Carl was probably one of the best-earning super bantamweights of all-time," he said.

"Then, we go up to featherweight and he's done exceptionally well up there as well.

"He's earned a huge amount of money from his boxing career, and we're proud of him."

Mr McGuigan (37) said he worked in the music industry before becoming more involved in the Cyclone business after his father suffered a stroke in April 2013.

He described how everything was focused on making Mr Frampton a star in his native Belfast and guide him to a world title.

Claims by the fighter that he was promised a 30% share of profits from Cyclone shows were disputed.

"The first I heard about that was when these proceedings began," he said.

Blain McGuigan also denied allegations the company concealed payments or kept sponsorship income hidden from Mr Frampton. "It didn't happen," he said.

Mr Frampton has established managerial ties with MTK (Mack The Knife) Global since his split from Cyclone.

Earlier in the case reference was made to MTK's alleged connections at one stage with Dublin man Daniel Kinahan.

Mr Kinahan has no convictions, but has been named in a Dublin court as a suspected senior figure in organised crime.

Asked for his assessment on MTK's status and reputation within the boxing industry, Blain McGuigan said: "They (have) pretty dubious links, (there's) certainly a fear of intimidation within the sport, for who might be behind them.

"My biggest concern is that they are getting more and more influence, and it's going to get to a point where they have control of both boxers and the contest."

He added: "There can be a potential lack of honesty in the contest, amongst other things."

The trial continues.

[THEBUTCH]

Time will tell, but I think Frampton has made a big, big mistake taking legal action.

[Coco]

I think the MTK connection will go against Frampton

[Counter-puncher]

I think the MTK connection will go against Frampton

I can't see any reason it should in any way change the nature of the contract between McGuigan/Frampton and whether or not the promoter fulfilled his side of the bargain.......

[mickey1975]

I think the MTK connection will go against Frampton

I can't see any reason it should in any way change the nature of the contract between McGuigan/Frampton and whether or not the promoter fulfilled his side of the bargain.......

It can, in backroom chat, seriously affect the case.

[Counter-puncher]

I think the MTK connection will go against Frampton

I can't see any reason it should in any way change the nature of the contract between McGuigan/Frampton and whether or not the promoter fulfilled his side of the bargain.......

It can, in backroom chat, seriously affect the case.

yeah hence why I itallicised the 'should'

[Ruthless-RKO]

I think the MTK connection will go against Frampton

I can't see any reason it should in any way change the nature of the contract between McGuigan/Frampton and whether or not the promoter fulfilled his side of the bargain.......

But he signed with MTK after he left Cyclone.

[Counter-puncher]

I think the MTK connection will go against Frampton

I can't see any reason it should in any way change the nature of the contract between McGuigan/Frampton and whether or not the promoter fulfilled his side of the bargain.......

But he signed with MTK after he left Cyclone.

yeah hence whI I can't see any reason it should blah blah blah

[Ruthless-RKO]

I can't see any reason it should in any way change the nature of the contract between McGuigan/Frampton and whether or not the promoter fulfilled his side of the bargain.......

But he signed with MTK after he left Cyclone.

yeah hence whI I can't see any reason it should blah blah blah

Sorry, my reply was more to Coco’s post.

[cam2010]

This case is being streamed live by the NI courts and tribunals, and yesterday you would of seen Blain Mcguigan blubbering and lying while giving evidence. The apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.
Hopefully Sandra Mcguigan is in the dock next as she is the one who controls the money .
I would like to see some of the fighters who have been silenced by threats have their day in court and confirm a lot of what Frampton is saying

[detamour]

Is Barry having nightmares of paying Mr Eastwood?

[TheLeprechaun]

This case is being streamed live by the NI courts and tribunals, and yesterday you would of seen Blain Mcguigan blubbering and lying while giving evidence. The apple hasn’t fallen far from the tree.
Hopefully Sandra Mcguigan is in the dock next as she is the one who controls the money .
I would like to see some of the fighters who have been silenced by threats have their day in court and confirm a lot of what Frampton is saying

post the link

[Ruthless-RKO]

‘When your under oath you should not lie’ – Paddy Barnes refutes Cyclone trial and grudge claims

Paddy Barnes this morning hit back at claims made during legal proceedings brought by Carl Frampton against his former manager Barry McGuigan.

The three time Olympian’s name came up at the High Court, when the former world champion’s son and Cyclone Promotions director, Blain McGuigan was giving evidence yesterday, Day 15 of proceedings.

The older of three brothers involved in former two weight world champion Frampton’s career pre the 2017 split for Cyclone, told the court Barnes held a grudge against Cyclone.

The 37-year-old surmised the decorated amateur, a close friend of Frampton, wasn’t fond of Cyclone due to the fact he had a trail with the promotional company and they elected against signing him.

Barnes took to social media to refute the comments. The two time Olympic medal winner claimed he never had a trial with any team or promotional outfit, not least Cyclone Promotions.

Speaking on Twitter Barnes said: “To the failed, wannabe rockstar, As a professional boxer I’ve never had a ‘trial’ with any coach or team, especially yours, when your under oath you should not lie.”



In the period building up to Frampton’s Cyclone split, Barnes had tentatively expressed concerns for his friend with regard to the workings of the promotional outfit.

Post Rio he firmly ruled them out as a promotional option as rumour grew he was going to turn over.

Carl Frampton is suing his former manager and fellow Irish boxing legend Barry McGuigan for withheld earnings of up to £6 million.

McGuigan has a separate counter claim for breach of contract, which will be heard in London.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Blain McGuigan denies Cyclone deleted thousands of emails that may have aided Frampton’s case

Blain McGuigan denied thousands of emails, that would have helped Carl Frampton’s case against former manager Barry McGuigan and Cyclone promotions, were deliberately deleted by the promotional outfit.

Blain McGuigan, son of former world champion Barry McGuigan and Cyclone Promotions director, claimed the emails were deleted as part of a move by Cyclone Promotions to free up space on their system.

Under cross examination McGuigan was pressed on ‘tens of thousands of emails’ deleted in June 2017.

The musician turned promoter told the court the company decided to switch it’s online systems and as a result were advised to delete emails no longer relevant to future events.

McGuigan told the court it involved getting rid of huge amounts of correspondence from previous shows to free up space.

“I think I had tens of thousands of emails at that point,” he said.

He also confirmed it included emails with reference to eight Frampton fights going back to 2013 because they were “not relevant moving forward”.

Challenged by Gavin Millar QC, for Mr Frampton, about the consequences for dealing with any subsequent commercial disagreement, he replied: “I wasn’t anticipating a dispute in June 2017.”

QC for Frampton questioned how true the evidence was, prompting McGuigan to declare: “It’s absolutely true.”

Frampton’s legal team went to query why Barry McGuigan didn’t explain the migration and deletion of mails when he was cross examined last month. McGuigan told the court his father wasn’t technically literate and pointed to some personal family issues when responding.

However, Frampton’s legal team argued: “What you have done since that earlier testimony and cross-examination in the case, is come up with an account of why there’s been no disclosure of any emails relating to my client’s fights from your side in the case.

“It avoids the problem that the migration exercise didn’t result in any irretrievable emails. You have come up with a different account, haven’t you?”

McGuigan responded: “No, that’s not true.” He added: “There was a process, it was not just a simple transfer of emails, it was the process around it.”

The barrister put it to him: “The reason those emails haven’t been disclosed is because they would assist our case, isn’t it?”

Again, however, McGuigan maintained: “No, that’s not true.”

The eldest of three brothers who were involved in Frampton’s career before a 2017 split, Blain McGuigan, was also questioned with regard to £220,000 he earned as director of Cyclone Promotions.

He confirmed that, in 2014 he was paid over £41,000 by the company.

“Some of it was income from the company and some of it was directors loans which would’ve remained payable until a point when they would’ve been written off. I would’ve paid tax on those personally,” he said.

Asked if he regarded the payments as salary, he replied: “I didn’t necessarily see it as salary. I saw it as my payment for working for the company.”

Frampton is suing former manager Barry McGuigan for withheld earnings of up to £6m.

McGuigan has a separate counter claim.

Both men deny any wrong doing.

[Cholo_cws]

Thanks for the updates.

Many years ago wasn't Barry behind a boxers' union that had the intention to stop things like conflicts of interest between promoter and manager? (including family ties.) I'm not sure if it truly got off the ground? I think he tried to relaunch it years later but I'm not sure what became of it.

[Black Sam Bellamy]

Are there any fighters still with Cyclone ?

[handsofstone]

Are there any fighters still with Cyclone ?

Chris Lovejoy apparently is interested in signing after his 127 year deal with Don King is up

[maverick23]

Are there any fighters still with Cyclone ?

Chris Lovejoy apparently is interested in signing after his 127 year deal with Don King is up

[bigped]

Are there any fighters still with Cyclone ?

Chris bilam smith

[coneye]

Can't really see anyone in the boxing world wanting anything to do with Mcguigan after this , He really has come across as a snake oil salesman , with a familly of leeches , ,,, Frampton , well that poor fella just comes across as being thick has pig shit .