BoxRec

BBC Sport Last Updated: Thursday, 1 September 2005, 21:25 GMT 22:25 UK

Warren ready to take legal action
allegedly has threatened legal action if Ricky Hatton stages his next bout with a rival promoter.
Warren says he has a three-fight deal with the IBF light welterweight champion, but Hatton says there is nothing tying him to the promoter.

"I have a three-bout agreement. I expect that agreement to be honoured," Warren told BBC Radio Five Live.

"If it is not honoured then we will wind up in court and let the people there decide who is telling the truth."

Hatton's father Ray says his son's contract with Warren expired after his world title win over Kostya Tszyu in June.

"We feel bitterly let down by allegedly, in numerous ways," he said. "We feel that we're being maligned as though we've done something wrong, as though we've lied. We haven't lied.

"If you had a written agreement with Ricky Hatton for three fights, why has it not been produced? Why are we going through all this?

"Why are we dragging all the dirty washing out - and believe me there is a lot, lot more to come?

"Personally we like Frank, but Frank has disappointed us."

Where is this document? From listening to a Ray Hatton interview on BBC Sports website they have been asking Warren to produce it for 7 months and he has failed to do so.

What is he up to?

nickd wrote:Where is this document? From listening to a Ray Hatton interview on BBC Sports website they have been asking Warren to produce it for 7 months and he has failed to do so.

What is he up to?

Er, Its here somewhere Ricky, its among the papers on my desk somewhere, dont you remember signing it. Remember the night in the curry house after you beat Zoo, we had a few pints of Kingfisher and you signed it.

Oh just take my word for it, Ive got the contract somewhere, it must have been misfiled.

Notice Warren always says agreement and not contract.

Cuban Lion wrote:Notice Warren always says agreement and not contract.

Yeah they may have agrred the terms of the contract, but never exchanged signed contracts, or completed them.

The promoter may argue intent, but its a smokescreen.

I was asking about this in the 'Warren hits back' thread, but noone replied.

It was obvious since frank started babbling about 'agreements' that we were witnessing a desperate man.

This agreement was made in December last year according to Warren - that comes from Ray Hatton's interview with BBC Sport.

It would appear to me that there is no contract in place as the Hatton's would not be doing this if there was. Pure speculation of course but it would appear Warren is just trying to make things as difficult as possible for Hatton now he's on his way. Otherwise he would produce this so called 'agreement'.

I wonder if he will actually pursue legal action if it comes to that or if he's just flexing muscles. If there's no signed contract then Warren doesn't have a leg to stand on.

nickd wrote:It would appear to me that there is no contract in place as the Hatton's would not be doing this if there was. Pure speculation of course but it would appear Warren is just trying to make things as difficult as possible for Hatton now he's on his way. Otherwise he would produce this so called 'agreement'.

I wonder if he will actually pursue legal action if it comes to that or if he's just flexing muscles. If there's no signed contract then Warren doesn't have a leg to stand on.

Or, Warren might have a series of documents or letters which he feels, collectively, might be contractual.

Ive seen this sort of things before in cases. Judges usually take a very dim view of "hybrid" contracts, made up of Heads of agreed terms and letters.

You either have a contract or you dont. If I had one I would produce it.

I doubt he has a cut and dry contract.

fw- what an amateur if he'd tried as hard to get ricky's signature as he did to get anthony mundine's he wouldn't be in this mess

produce to contracts frank!!!!!!!

He's probably got a fight program with Hatton's signature on the front!

I kept thinking that when I heard the interviews, "Just produce the bloody thing then", he is so full of shit.

Anyone who missed the interviews with Ray Hatton and Warren can listen again here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive
(Look for the link down the right hand side of the page)

Warren has a point though when he said whats he doing in the pub if he's urinating blood.

Max Molyneux wrote:Warren has a point though when he said whats he doing in the pub if he's urinating blood.

I'm thinking that maybe Ray Hatton was being hypothetical when he said that?

Possibly yeah but should Warren have knew these things whenhe was hismanager promotor.

Only thing Ray is making sense on is the part when saying about wanting bigger paydays and asking Warren to show themthe agreement.

Maybe it was a verbal agreement but he lost the old dictaphone tape

Max Molyneux wrote:Possibly yeah but should Warren have knew these things whenhe was hismanager promotor.

Only thing Ray is making sense on is the part when saying about wanting bigger paydays and asking Warren to show themthe agreement.

Everything Ray Hatton says makes sense. They want the best money on offer, and they believe there is no contract and are talking to other promoters. Warren has not provided this supposed agreement in 7 months of the Hatton camp requesting it according to what they are saying. I doubt very much Warren has a signed contract or we wouldn't have got to this point.

I agree, Hatton deserves the best money offers but it's not like Warren can;t provide them. Hasn't Hatton beengetting decent paydays already when he was fighting for Warren and withall the fights he's had at the MEN since he sells that place out?

Perhaps the Hattons simply think Warren has conflicting interests and feel that If Hatton is to fight in the US as he has stated he wants then Warren can't be involved.
Now that Hatton's champ there's big fights that could happen in or around 140 in the near future with Corrales, Mayweather, Harris, Cotto, Judah, Tszyu again (possible), Spinks, Forrest, Mosley (also possible), which won't happen in the MEN, where Warren has ties to put on x number of shows and needs Hatton to sell it out, tying Hatton to it too.

i'm interested in how they appeal to the jury in boxing related court cases.

Surely a lack of knowledge of the politics of boxing isn't necessarily going to produce an accurate outcome?

Riddick Blowe wrote:i'm interested in how they appeal to the jury in boxing related court cases.

Surely a lack of knowledge of the politics of boxing isn't necessarily going to produce an accurate outcome?

True, however, the politics involved isn't rocket science. I'm sure the judge will know his shit. As for the jury, i doubt the politics will have a significant impact.

mrbassie wrote:Perhaps the Hattons simply think Warren has conflicting interests and feel that If Hatton is to fight in the US as he has stated he wants then Warren can't be involved.
Now that Hatton's champ there's big fights that could happen in or around 140 in the near future with Corrales, Mayweather, Harris, Cotto, Judah, Tszyu again (possible), Spinks, Forrest, Mosley (also possible), which won't happen in the MEN, where Warren has ties to put on x number of shows and needs Hatton to sell it out, tying Hatton to it too.

Warren could promote Hatton in the US though, he did it with Naz Vs Kelly.

If hatton signs with the top US promoters it'll be difficult to get loads of fights with the top fighters as i doubt the promoter would want to use their best fighters against each other i.e cotto vs hatton

just read allegedly's artical in the news of the world...

"a clause in a contract that comfirms the terms agreed in a recorded delivery letter.." talk about hiding contracts in contract!!!

also as for ricky not being able to fight at the MEN arena, he doesn't have to.. ricky's already stated he only wants to fight twice a year now...he could fight in the states during winter and at the city of manchester stadium during the summer in front of 65,000

I'LL FIGHT HATTON TOOTH'N NAIL IN COURT
By allegedly, News of the World, Fighting Talk article.

"...Ray, who has done a fantastic job looking after Ricky, claimed his sons agreement with me expired after he beat Kostya Tszyu to win the IBF light-welterweight title in June.
But in November of last year, before Ricky fought Ray Oliveria in December, I sent Ray Hatton a recorded delivery letter.
That confirmed talks we'd had and said I would proceed with the Oliveria bout only if Ricky extended his deal with me for a further four fights.
During the course of these discussions Ray said; "we are not going anywhere."
When Ricky signed a bout agreement for Oliveria, one of the clauses was that he agreed with the terms of the November letter.
In the radio interview, Ray claimed he tore up the letter and threw it in the bin when he received it- and did not even tell Ricky of its contents"




allegedly has virtually a full page for his Fighting Talk article in todays News of the World and I recommend buying it for the full article. The couple of paragraphs quoted above certainly suggest a court appearence if agreement can't be reached.