Lawsuit against Canelo Alvarez, Golden Boy further clouds Golovkin negotiations

Yesterday it was reported that Canelo Alvarez and Golden Boy hadn't engaged in any negotiations with Gennady Golovkin's team since they decided to vacate the WBC middleweight title, and an ongoing lawsuit against Canelo and his Golden Boy promoter appears to further complicate matters.

A trial opened on Monday where All-Star Boxing is suing Canelo Alvarez, Oscar De La Hoya, and Golden Boy Promotions claiming that they had Canelo under contract when Golden Boy poached him away from them. ASB contend that they signed Canelo to a four-year exclusive promotional agreement around September 2008, and are seeking millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages.

Specifically, part of ASB's complaint reads that Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy "have engaged and are engaging in a pattern of wrongful behavior ... designed to intercede on behalf of themselves and to damage ASB and ASB's business and contractual relationship with Alvarez ... in violation of the law." ASB allege that De La Hoya had been shown a copy of ASB's exclusive contract with Canelo in 2010 and "despite this knowledge and without justification, GBP and De La Hoya have maliciously and tortuously interfered with Plaintiff's business and contractual relationship with Alvarez."

Futhermore, ASB contends that they attained a professional athlete visa (P-1) for Canelo from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security which allowed Canelo to travel to the United States and made ASB his "sponsor or exclusive employer."

The lawsuit, originally filed in April 2010, has already been through 44 court hearings and 426 dockets, but is now finally going to trial - with jury selection expected to last well into June. Golden Boy disputes ASB's allegations, claiming that Canelo was defrauded into signing the contract as he didn't speak English and didn't comprehend what he was signing. A spokesman for Golden Boy also claims that this lawsuit is nothing other than a "money grab" to "cash-in" on Canelo's success.

Wherever this lawsuit leads, it doesn't spell good news for those holding onto the last ounce of hope for Canelo to come to an agreement to fight Gennady Golovkin in the near future -- likely the biggest fight to make in boxing right now. According to Golovkin's promoter Tom Loeffler:

"(There's) not much to comment on," Loeffler said in a text on Tuesday night of the fight negotiations. "It seems that (Golden Boy) wants to get the trial behind them and then see where they go from there."

So, at least for now, things have come to a grinding halt...But the good news is that you're boxing fans! You're accustom to habitual disappointment! This is just par for the course.