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Bob Arum’s Top Rank settles lawsuit with Al Haymon

Bob Arum’s Top Rank Boxing has settled a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against rival Al Haymon, an official familiar with the case said.

Bob Arum’s Top Rank Boxing has settled a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against rival Al Haymon, an official familiar with the case said.

(Frederic J. Brown / AFP/Getty Images)
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The multimillion-dollar lawsuit filed by veteran boxing promoter Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. against powerful boxing manager Al Haymon, the Premier Boxing Champions creator, has been settled, according to an official familiar with the case.

Terms of the settlement were ordered to be kept confidential, as was an explanation of why the deal was made between the longtime bitter rivals.

Haymon, closely involved in unbeaten Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s 2006 exit from Top Rank while becoming the fighter’s manager, was sued by Arum on anti-trust grounds after Haymon formed PBC last year and began negotiating broadcast deals with all of the major networks while beefing up his stable to an estimated 200 fighters.

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Arum was left to place bouts on HBO and cable network TruTV while Haymon relied on an influx reported to be in excess of $400 million from a venture capital firm in Kansas to fund his business, which had time-buy arrangements with NBC, CBS and ESPN.

Arum and a PBC spokesman declined to comment when contacted by the Los Angeles Times on Thursday.

The settlement could set the stage for a rematch between Mayweather and Arum’s top fighter, Manny Pacquiao, although Pacquiao was officially elected to the Philippine Senate on Thursday, and Mayweather has said he’s retired unless a “nine-figure” purse emerges.

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A Pacquiao bout could provide that after Mayweather earned more than $400 million in his unanimous-decision victory in May 2015.

“That’s not an issue at all,” one official familiar with the settlement said. The official is not authorized to speak publicly on the deal.

Another lawsuit filed against Haymon by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions alleging monopolistic practices remains active.

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