Looks Like Mikey Garcia Is Fighting His Promoter, Top Rank

During a Tuesday early evening phone call, trainer Robert Garcia said brother Mikey is looking, perhaps, at a July date, against TBD. The Cali based tutor talked to TSS about Marcos Maidanas' chances of beating Floyd Mayweather, and then we followed up with a question about lil bro Mikey, who holds the WBO super feather title.

I asked Robert if the 26-year-old Mikey, who boasts a 34-0 record, would be looking to lock down a signature fight next, and, maybe, be seeking to step up his game where he's fighting more minutes of each round with more predatory intent?

“It's probably about time Mikey has that signature fight,” Robert said. “We're waiting on Top Rank. We've heard July, but nothing's confirmed.”

And is a Mikey-Yuriorkis Gamboa tangle still on the stove, or has it been yanked? “It's still possible,” Robert said, stating that if terms agreeable to both men can be hashed out, then that would certainly fill the bill as a “signature” fight.

What didn't come up was a legal doc which is floating around the web, which I saw billed as an exclusive on BadCulture.net. The PDF, attached to a story by Jeandra LeBeauf, purports to be a legal doc, filed in a California Superior Court, stamped April 8. The doc suggests Mikey is the plaintiff, and Top Rank, his promoter, the defendant.

The document accuses Top Rank of trying to unlawfully control Mikey's career, in violation of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act. The complaint alleges that Garcia is rendered “an indentured servant” of the promotional company, and that Top Rank neglected to disclose to Garcia the amount they would make from his fights. The document contains text which indicates that Garcia is seeking to detach himself from Top Rank, and will request damages from the company, which he maintains acted improperly as a manager. (His manager, to my knowledge, is Cameron Dunkin. Dunkin is the second most active manager, probably, in the sport, behind Al Haymon. Dunkin had managed Tim Bradley, who we saw lose to Manny Pacquiao on Saturday, but Bradley chose to install wife Monica as his manager when his contract with Dunkin ran out a few months ago.)

The complaint also notes that Garcia, or his attorney team, believes that within California labor law, he should be freed from his contract with Top Rabk, because a personal service contract is not supposed to go beyond seven years from the start of the contract. Mikey signed with Top Rank in 2006. Top Rank has Mikey signed through May 2015.

I reached out to Top Rank, Robert Garcia, an attorney listed on the doc as working on behalf of Garcia, and Cameron Dunkin for comment on the issue, and will insert any responses.

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