Endorsed Letter Re Pulev - Matchroom Boxing
Endorsed Letter Re Pulev - Matchroom Boxing
Endorsed Letter Re Pulev - Matchroom Boxing
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October 4, 2019
After Andy Ruiz defeated the then-reigning unified IBF / ~ B r {World U5/).J
Heavyweight Champion Anthony Joshua on June 1, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in a
huge upset, Ruiz, as the new champion, had an obligation under the IBF Rules to defend
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his title against Pulev in Ruiz' next bout without any intervening bouts. As you may recall,
Matchroom sued Ruiz to enforce an immediate rematch clause in the contract (the "POS")
that was filed as Exhibit A to the Complaint (ECF No. 4), but which was provisionally
sealed by the Court (ECF No. 6) (the "Sealing Order").
We also contend that the POS contains a provision that obligates Ruiz to
request an exception from the IBF and that Matchroom/Joshua agreed to pay the $20,000
exception fee. Under the IBF Rule 11, only the reigning champion has the right to request
an exception, but Rule 3.B. infers that the champion must not be under a contractual
obligation to do so. There are a number of other documents which were filed with the
Court under seal which we believe may contain evidence that Ruiz was effectively forced
by Matchroom to seek the exception due to the prohibited rematch clause in the POS.
The case was voluntarily dismissed on August 26, 2019, prior to the August
30, 2019 date set by the Court in the Sealing Order. We do not have any right to discovery
with the IBF and therefore having the POS is very important for our client to establish that
Ruiz was acting as Joshua's agent in requesting the exception from the IBF due to his
contractual rematch obligation under the POS.
Respectfully submitted,
John S. Wirt
1
https://www.ibfusbaregistration.com/ibfusba 02APR2014/images/pdfs/IBFChampionshipContestRules0 l
19.pdf