A federal judge has found boxing promoter Don King liable for breach of contract over a highly anticipated championship bout in Moscow that was canceled hours before the opening bell when one of his fighters, former WBA cruiserweight champ Guillermo Jones, had to pull out after failing a drug test.
Manhattan federal Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled Thursday that Jones’ disqualification for the Aug. 25 World Boxing Association cruiserweight championship against current champ Denis Lebedev “plainly put King in breach” — even if the promoter didn’t have anything to do with Jones testing positive for a banned weight-losing substance, furosemide.
Lebedev and Russian boxing promoters Andrey Ryabinskiy and Vladimir Hrunov, who run World of Boxing LLC, had slapped King in May with a $2.4 million lawsuit over Jones’ failed test.
The suit sought compensation for the “sizable sum” the promoters say they laid out for the rematch, including an $800,000 fee for delivering Jones that was allegedly deposited in King’s bank account.
Money damages will be determined at a later date.
King had argued that Jones’ decision to take the drug was outside his control, but Scheindlin said in her written opinion that King could have protected himself from liability by ensuring there were “more protective” terms in the contract with the fighter.
Both fighters met in a title fight in May 2013, with Jones knocking out Lebedev in the 11th round.
Nevertheless, Jones was later stripped of the title after failing a drug test by testing positive for the same banned substance.
Reps for King did not immediately respond to requests for comment.