Probellum, Schaefer File Defamation Lawsuit Against Ben Shalom And BOXXER

[Blueprint]

Boxing scene is the source

BS.com has learned that Probellum and company co-founders Richard Schaefer and Ali Shams Pour have filed a defamation lawsuit against BOXXER and promoter Ben Shalom, who operates as CEO and director of the UK-based outfit. The initial filing was placed June 21 in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, citing libel and slander in seeking unspecified damages.

[maverick23]

Whilst I think it’s pretty clear DK was involved with Probellum, I think it may actually be difficult for them to prove it.

Will be interesting to see what happens. I’m surprised Probellum haven’t folded to be honest.

[Spud]

What a f+cking mess.

This is exactly what boxing does not need.

[Stevieaber]

Whilst I think it’s pretty clear DK was involved with Probellum, I think it may actually be difficult for them to prove it.

Will be interesting to see what happens. I’m surprised Probellum haven’t folded to be honest.

I’m like you in that I’m surprised that they’re still going. I just thought that maybe they didn’t want to collapse the moment that DK was sanctioned to avoid making any association obvious, unlike MTK who folded the moment he was sanctioned. It’s not as though they are putting many shows on

Risky move by Probellum, as if they lose their name will be right out there as associates. If that’s the case, stick a fork in it, their done.

Civil court cases are only based on the balance of probabilities rather than beyond reasonable doubt too, so they’ve really taken a chance

[Greg Houston]

Whilst I think it’s pretty clear DK was involved with Probellum, I think it may actually be difficult for them to prove it.

Will be interesting to see what happens. I’m surprised Probellum haven’t folded to be honest.

I’m like you in that I’m surprised that they’re still going. I just thought that maybe they didn’t want to collapse the moment that DK was sanctioned to avoid making any association obvious, unlike MTK who folded the moment he was sanctioned. It’s not as though they are putting many shows on

Risky move by Probellum, as if they lose their name will be right out there as associates. If that’s the case, stick a fork in it, their done.

Civil court cases are only based on the balance of probabilities rather than beyond reasonable doubt too, so they’ve really taken a chance

I think libel/defamation is different. I'm pretty sure when I did a law module (relating to journalism) at college we were told that in such a case, the defendant has to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that what they said is true. then again, that might be Scots Law.

[a force]

I can’t get my head around why fighters signed with Probellum. I know the obvious comeback is money but surely fighters like the McCormack’s & McGrail aren’t getting that much more with Probellum than they would on Sky, BT or Dazn. There’s just no exposure & it was always a ticking time bomb.

They’re just going to be tied into contracts & not fighting often. I wouldn’t be surprised if them 3 haven’t had 5 fights each by the time the next Olympics comes round with the inevitable legal wrangles.

[maverick23]

I can’t get my head around why fighters signed with Probellum. I know the obvious comeback is money but surely fighters like the McCormack’s & McGrail aren’t getting that much more with Probellum than they would on Sky, BT or Dazn. There’s just no exposure & it was always a ticking time bomb.

They’re just going to be tied into contracts & not fighting often. I wouldn’t be surprised if them 3 haven’t had 5 fights each by the time the next Olympics comes round with the inevitable legal wrangles.

From what I’ve read Probellum offered substantially more than the rest for the guys who signed with them. They would have also been teasing a deal with Eurosport which then was cancelled extremely quickly.

Now they’re getting zero exposure and aren’t fighting regularly they must be pissed. I’d imagine they’ll either wait to see what happens with Probellum or Eddie/Sky look to buy some of them of them out of their deals.

[olij999]

Whilst I think it’s pretty clear DK was involved with Probellum, I think it may actually be difficult for them to prove it.

Will be interesting to see what happens. I’m surprised Probellum haven’t folded to be honest.

I’m like you in that I’m surprised that they’re still going. I just thought that maybe they didn’t want to collapse the moment that DK was sanctioned to avoid making any association obvious, unlike MTK who folded the moment he was sanctioned. It’s not as though they are putting many shows on

Risky move by Probellum, as if they lose their name will be right out there as associates. If that’s the case, stick a fork in it, their done.

Civil court cases are only based on the balance of probabilities rather than beyond reasonable doubt too, so they’ve really taken a chance

I think libel/defamation is different. I'm pretty sure when I did a law module (relating to journalism) at college we were told that in such a case, the defendant has to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that what they said is true. then again, that might be Scots Law.

It's still balance of probabilities, but the more serious the allegation, the clearer the evidence needs to be - see paragraphs 41 to 43 of the Depp-The Sun judgment at https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/QB/2020/2911.html . The kicker is that the burden of proof is on the defendant to show that the statement was "substantially true", not on the claimant to show that it wasn't.

[TheLeprechaun]

They're playing 4D Chess.

[margaret thatcher]

we aint hearing or seeing sh!t about very talented guys like pat mccormack, these guys must be regretting signing with probellum right now

[maverick23]

we aint hearing or seeing sh!t about very talented guys like pat mccormack, these guys must be regretting signing with probellum right now

Yep but they’ll be tied into contracts and it doesn’t look like Probellum are folding. These guys must be pissed seeing how the Sky Olympians are being pushed yet they’re inactive and when they did fight no one watched and they had no hype.

Prograis must be pissed too. Arguably the best 140 lber (I thought he snuck the win in the JT fight) yet isn’t down to fight for a vacant title and doesn’t have anything in the pipeline.

[daz74]

we aint hearing or seeing sh!t about very talented guys like pat mccormack, these guys must be regretting signing with probellum right now

Yep but they’ll be tied into contracts and it doesn’t look like Probellum are folding. These guys must be pissed seeing how the Sky Olympians are being pushed yet they’re inactive and when they did fight no one watched and they had no hype.

Prograis must be pissed too. Arguably the best 140 lber (I thought he snuck the win in the JT fight) yet isn’t down to fight for a vacant title and doesn’t have anything in the pipeline.

pat mccormack fighting on Ch5

[Ruthless-RKO]

Probellum Claims Damages, Seeks Injunction In Lawsuit Against BOXXER And Ben Shalom

Probellum and its founders are prepared to go the distance in its legal battle with a rival promoter.

As previously reported by Boxing Scene, Probellum and company co-founders Richard Schaefer and Ali Shams Pour have filed a defamation lawsuit against BOXXER and promoter Ben Shalom, who operates as CEO and director of the first-year UK-based outfit. The case was first submitted on June 21 in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, followed on July 13 with an expanded 10-page Particulars of Claim filing, a copy of which was obtained by BS.com.

Probellum, Pour and Schaefer claim varying damages and seek an injunction to further prevent BOXXER and Shalom from smearing their name and reputation. The legal action taken is in response to the discovery that BOXXER distributed two Code of Ethics letters to prominent trainers, managers and promoters earlier this spring. In it, the company required each participant and the fighters that they worked with to deny working in any capacity with Probellum or the now-defunct managerial conglomerate MTK Global in order to work with its company and Sky Sports.

According to the Particulars of Claim filing, Probellum’s legal team argues that Shalom has acted on behalf of BOXXER “whether as agent, employee, consultant, director or otherwise. [BOXXER] is vicariously liable for all of [Shalom’s] actions upon which the Claimants rely in these actions.”

It is theorized that the actions of the named defendants were done so in the wake of sanctions imposed by the U.S. Department of Treasury against accused Irish crimelord and MTK co-founder Daniel Kinahan and several members of a group identified by international authorities as the Kinahan Organized Crime Group on April 11. The U.S. Department of Treasury offered up to a $5,000,000 reward for information leading to the financial disruption of the KOCG and all business ties, or the arrest and/or conviction of Kinahan, his younger brother Christy Sr. and father Christy Sr.

The matter quickly grew into an international investigation, with Ireland, the U.K., Spain and even the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—which doesn’t have an extradition treaty with any of those nations—joining the U.S. in applying pressure on Kinahan and any affiliated business.

Neither Probellum nor MTK Global were named in the U.S. sanctions as companies directly tied to Kinahan and his alleged crime organization. However, there existed industry-wide speculation of Kinahan’s—or at least MTK’s—direct involvement with Probellum since its inception last September. The company went on a massive signing spree, with most of its fighters already fighting under the MTK banner.

Probellum has vigorously denied any link with Kinahan and BS.com understands that the US Treasury officers have confirmed that the business and its employees were never part of their investigations. Promotional outfits such as BOXXER and Top Rank—the current content providers to Sky Sports—have attempted to draw direct links between Probellum and Kinahan, with Top Rank founder and chairman Bob Arum openly claiming that Kinahan “100 percent” still runs Probellum and MTK.

“The Defendants intended the words complained of (further or alternatively the defamatory allegation/s they conveyed about the Claimants as particularized below) to be so republished,” stated Gavin Miller, Queen’s Counsel on behalf of the claimants. “Further or alternatively such republication was manifestly a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the Defendants’ actions, and the Defendants are liable for the said republications.

“Those to whom the words complained of have been published or republished as aforesaid included the boxing managers as well as Mr Al-Samarrai and other boxing journalists.”

The comment did not go unchecked. BS.com has learned that a legal notice was sent to Arum by Probellum demanding the Las Vegas-based promoter avoid further such accusations to avoid litigation.

Prior to the imposed sanctions, Sky Sports drew criticism for previously working with numerous fighters and companies alleged to have direct ties to Kinahan.

Increased pressure came in the wake of a BBC Panorama ‘Boxing and the Mob’ documentary was released last February, focusing on Kinahan’s alarming influence in the sport including his prior relationship with lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and several other high-profile boxers.

BOXXER entered an exclusive deal with Sky Sports upon its official launch last September, announcing a number of signed fighters to be showcased on the platform. It was learned that fighters who had ties to MTK were instructed—or at least encouraged—to not mention the company by name during the launch.

The discovery of the Code of Ethics letters was reported by several outlets—including BS.com—earlier this month, though BS.com has since learned the letter was in circulation since at least May.

Probellum denied any direct ties to Kinahan in an April 13 press release, two days after the sanctions were imposed. “Top Rank is a competitor and since Probellum’s inception, Top Rank has never worked directly with us,” Probellum revealed. “Any suggestions that Daniel Kinahan is a shareholder or owner of Probellum are false and defamatory.”

The statement alone was not enough to convince the masses otherwise. The fact that BOXXER would take it a step further has prompted swift action on the part of Probellum in hopes of restoring—or even establishing—its credibility heading into its sophomore year in the sport.

“The publication and republication of the words complained of (further or alternatively of the defamatory allegation/s they conveyed about the Claimants as aforesaid) has caused and/or is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of [Pour and Schaefer],” noted Miller. “It will inevitably have caused [Probellum] serious financial loss and is likely to do so in the future.

“Each of the allegations conveyed by the words complained of is an extremely grave one. The words/allegations complained of have been published and republished as aforesaid, and will continue to be so published, to many people. Included amongst those to whom the words complained of have been published and republished as aforesaid, and to whom they will continue to be so published, are those in and interested in the sport amongst whom the Claimants have their business/trading reputations including those with whom they have done, do and hope to do business.

“It is reasonable to infer that each of the said allegations has made or is likely to make people shun [Pour and Schaefer] and/or take steps to avoid conducting business with them or with the entities through which they conduct business.”

The Damages section of the claim cites that Pour and Schaefer are suffering from anxiety from the rapid fallout due in large part to the actions of BOXXER and Shalom.

Further troubling to the Probellum side is that “no attempt was made by the Defendants to contact them before publication of the words complained of. In the circumstances, it is clear that the Defendants were prepared to, and did, tarnish the Claimants without providing them with an opportunity to respond or conducting even the most basic attempt at verification.”

According to the complaint, Probellum’s legal team reached out to that of BOXXER on May 24 regarding such actions but were not met with a response. Similarly, a June 2 inquiry requesting copies of the Ethics letter went unfulfilled as was the case during a June 7 follow-up attempt. It wasn’t until June 16—two days after its third attempt—was Probellum ultimately provided with such material.

“The Defendants have failed to apologize for making the statements complained of,” stated Miller. “Nor have they responded to a letter of 23 June 2022 from the Claimants’ solicitors requesting that steps be taken by them to mitigate the damage being done to the Claimants by the libels, including providing a public statement making clear that the imputations complained of are untrue.

“The statements complained of were published by the Defendants in the letter, as aforesaid, knowing or suspecting that they were untrue. Further the Defendants published them having refrained from taking the obvious and straightforward steps of:

- asking the Claimants whether they had breached anti-money laundering laws, were the subject of economic sanctions imposed by US and/or other international agencies or were associated with, the KOCG and / or its leadership; and

- making even the most basic investigations with authoritative third parties or agencies to establish whether the Claimants had breached money-laundering laws or were the subject of any such sanctions, which steps would immediately have made clear to the Claimants that the statements were untrue.

Probellum claims as a result of such actions: aggravated damages to Pour and Schaefer; exemplary damages to the company as a whole; an injunction to restrain BOXXER and Shalom, whether by themselves, through agents, others or otherwise howsoever from publishing her the words complained or words with the same or similar defamatory meaning; further or other relief and all costs associated with the complaint.

Schaefer, Pour and Probellum Holdings Limited are listed as the lawsuit’s claimants, all represented by Reed Smith LLP—an international law firm whose main headquarters are in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but with locations throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. Co-defendants Shalom and BOXXER Limited are represented by Simons Muirhead and Burton LLP, a London-based ethical law firm.

[maverick23]

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out.

Whilst DK was almost certainly running Probellum, I’d imagine it’s going to be difficult to provide proper evidence of it.

[KiwiRider]

Thanks Ruthie, good update

Jeese, what a mess.

[handsofstone]

Thanks Ruthie, good update

Jeese, what a mess.

Was just about to post the same, what a carry on

[KiwiRider]

Thanks Ruthie, good update

Jeese, what a mess.

Was just about to post the same, what a carry on

I'm gutted for Reggie. He can't afford to mess about.

[jimmystone]

What a disaster for the fighters signed to Probellum. I'd like Shaeffer and Shams to rip up the contracts and let the fighters get on with their lives.

[Coco]

Who have Probellem got?

Are any of them fighting?

Were they given signing on fees?

An how did Shalom, out of nowhere, become so big so fast?

[Black Sam Bellamy]

With this lawsuit, you'd have to think there's zero chance of a Probelum fighter appearing on Sky anytime soon. Even in the away corner. That's bad news for the boxers.

I cannot remember the last Probelum show in UK ?

[maverick23]

Who have Probellem got?

Are any of them fighting?

Were they given signing on fees?

An how did Shalom, out of nowhere, become so big so fast?

They signed the McCormack brothers, Paul Butler, Sunny and Charlie Edwards, Lee McGregor, Jack Catterall, the McGrail brothers, Jazza Dickens, Ricky Burns, Archie Sharp, Regis Prograis, Lewis Ritson, Stanionis, Troy Williamson, Liam Williams, Mark Dickinson, Rocky Fielding.

Guys at all stages of their careers. Some are getting fights but not on TV. Pat McCormack is fighting on channel 5 on Friday on the Wasserman show.

I’d imagine their financial deals were big as signing with a new promoter with no TV deal makes no sense at all. Whether that’s signing bonuses and/or high purse guarantees.

The only reason Shalom became big is because of Sky. I don’t actually think he does much promotion - more of a matchmaker at the moment. I’d imagine it was Sky that requested the Probellum related letter too.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I kept updating this thread everytime they signed anyone..

New boxing promotion, Probellum, launches by Richard Schaefer

and this one

Ricky Burns Signs Deal with Schaefer’s Probellum

------------------

The last Probellum card was quite recent..

Kazuto Ioka vs. Donnie Nietes II | Probellum - July 13, 2022

This was the article: Letter Issued To Prevent Probellum, MTK Boxers From Fighting on Sky Sports

[TheLeprechaun]

I think you have to read between the lines in all this.

Shame to see probellum go the way it has.

Same with MTK. They were both great for boxing. Not looking to get into a debate, just saying we as boxing fans are missing out.

[Glass Joe]

This was the article: Letter Issued To Prevent Probellum, MTK Boxers From Fighting on Sky Sports

Sky dont have any problem with dealing with saudi arabia

[Glass Joe]

I think you have to read between the lines in all this.

Shame to see probellum go the way it has.

Same with MTK. They were both great for boxing. Not looking to get into a debate, just saying we as boxing fans are missing out.

MTK FIGHT NIGHTS were good, enjoyed the QF golden contract with Ryan WALSH AND CO.