As reported here, on May 5, 2010 Don King Production asked Shine Fight Promotions (a new MMA fight promotion company) to cease and desist from promoting the upcoming Ricardo “El Matador” Mayorga fight with Din Thomas. For those of you who don't know, Mayorga is a former welterweight and junior middleweight boxing champion who is making the transition to MMA. Shine was set to promote Mayorga's fight with Din Thomas on May 15, 2010.
As set forth in the link above, DKP is claiming that it has exclusive promotion rights over Mayorga fights pursuant to its contract with Mayorga and is claiming that any promotion by Shine would constitute tortious interference with DKP and Mayorga's agreement. Today, in response to the cease and desist, Shine issued its own statement that the fight will happen and that "Shine Fights has a valid and exclusive promotional contract with Ricardo Mayorga for mixed martial arts."
A couple of points to think about. First, is the DKP agreement with Mayorga limited to promoting Mayorga's boxing events (as the Shine statement seems to suggest) or is it more general, e.g., promotion of "fighting events," "combative events," and/or "any form of competition." Second, has DKP sent a similar cease and desist to Mayorga advising Mayorga that he will be in breach of his agreement with DKP if he fights on the Shine card. In this regard, will DKP sue Shine and/or Mayorga and seek to enjoin Mayorga from competing on May 15, 2010. Stay tuned. Fight Lawyer
