Boxing fans have been clamoring to see Andre "S.O.G." Ward in the ring again since the consensus No. 2 pound-for-pound fighter in the world hasn't fought since November 2013. Despite the demand, it seems Ward's fighting for now is going to be limited to the courtroom.
According to reports, Ward has filed a new federal lawsuit against his promoter Dan Goosen, alleging that Goosen failed to make timely financial disclosures from 2004 to 2012, violating the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act.
One of Ward's attorneys, Jim McCarroll, expounded on the lawsuit.
"The core purpose of this law is to protect boxers from the inherent advantage that promoters have over them. A fair, straight-shooting promoter will provide straight financial disclosures, and the split will be proper and everybody will see that. That's fine and that's how a promoter should operate," McCarroll said.
"However, there have been instances in the past where you have a promoter that has the unique ability to see all of the finances and all of the deals, and the promoter then tells the fighter how much he's going to get after the fact. That's fundamentally at odds with, and fundamentally a violation of, this statute. That's what's happened here. If you want to know a good estimate of how much Goossen owes Ward, the sad reality is that I can't tell."
This lawsuit is different from previous legal action Ward took to try and break free from his contract with Goosen, which was upheld by the California State Athletic Commission. After the CSAC upheld his deal with Goosen and Tutor Promotions, his handlers Josh Dubin and James Prince released a statement lashing out at the commission that included this:
"It is difficult to understand why the CSAC has refused to enforce its own rules - first, by upholding Goossen Tutor's Promotional Agreement with Andre when we feel that Dan Goossen clearly violated the commission rules by failing to disclose his co-promotional agreement with Antonio Leonard, and now by continuing to recognize and in fact extend the agreement when it is in clear violation of a California labor law that prohibits promotional contracts that last more than seven years. Why the CSAC is favoring a promoter, even when it means turning a blind eye to its own rules and the law, is a bit of mystery at this point - but we can assure you that we will get to the bottom of why that is happening and bring it to full light. This is an important matter not just for Andre, but for any fighter that risks his or her life in the state of California."
During all this, Ward has said he is willing to continue fighting under Goosen to remain active while the litigation moves forward. Despite many rumors involving Ward's name though, against fighters such as Carl Froch and Gennady Golovkin, he has remained largely inactive. The last time Ward had a bout was November 16, 2013 vs. Edwin Rodriguez.
In that same letter written by Dubin and Prince, his willingness to fight under Goosen during the proceedings, and his dissatisfaction with the job Goosen is doing was addressed.
""We also want to be very clear about something else - when Andre filed his lawsuit against Dan Goossen late last year, he offered to continue to work with Dan while the case played out. Dan said that he would continue to pursue fights for Andre but since the Rodriguez bout, he has been unable to deliver. Andre is still waiting for an offer to fight, and the reality is that he is sitting on the shelf because Dan Goossen simply cannot make it happen. This is one of the precise reasons Andre is trying to free himself from this situation - he is stuck with a promoter who we do not feel can advance his career in the appropriate manner."
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