Tavoris Cloud and Don King Sued by Cloud's Former Promoter

Richie Boy Promotions, the Florida-based company that formerly promoted current light heavyweight contender Tavoris Cloud, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in the 11th District Judiciail Circuit Court in Miami against Cloud and current promoter Don King, as well as trainer Al Bonanni.

Complaints filed in the lawsuit include Breach of Contract (Cloud), Unjust Enrichment (DKP), Tortious Interference with Contract (DKP and Bonanni), Tortious Interference with Business Relationships (DKP and Bonanni, Fraudulent Misrepresentation (Bonanni), and Breach of Fudicuary Duty (Bonanni).

The suit alleges that Bonanni served as a go-between for the deal between Cloud and King last year. The trainer had been hired by Richie Boy Promotions to run the company's boxing business. Bonanni, a former Don King Promotions employee, also served as Cloud's trainer. During the original negotiations to match Cloud with IBF mandatory challenger Glen Johnson -- a fight that was to take place on April 10, 2010 -- Bonanni was fired by Richie Boy Promotions, and then allegedly introduced Cloud to King. King then signed Cloud to a deal despite knowledge of Cloud's contract with Richie Boy.

So what's the upside of this? For Richie Boy, the upside is they can get some money out of it. It's not as though anyone is going to send Cloud back to their promotional stable. I remember when Cloud made the deal with King and I wondered aloud whether or not he was sane; sure, Richie Boy is compared to King a small-time outfit, but King doesn't get his fighters many good dates anymore, and Cloud seemed to have value as a young contender in the light heavyweight division. A whopping two fights (one not televised) and nothing on the horizon later, I still wonder if Cloud made the right choice.