Canelo’s ex-promoter seeks $8.5M garnishment from upcoming purse

As the big Mexican fight date of May 6th closes in, promoter Tuto Zabala Jr. of All Star Boxing is looking to have Canelo Alvarez’s outstanding judgement against him settled via his upcoming purse to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.

Zabala’s attorney, Alejandro Brito, filed a motion in Florida requesting that the court garnish $8.5M from Canelo’s purse for the Chavez Jr. fight, of which Canelo is guaranteed $10M. Zabala had filed a lawsuit against both Canelo Alvarez and Golden Boy Promotions back in 2011 as he alleged that Canelo broke his exclusive contract by signing with Oscar De La Hoya, and accused Golden Boy of tortuous interference.

After about five years of litigating, Zabala was eventually awarded a $8.5M judgement against Canelo specifically (plus 4.75% annual interest), while Golden Boy was found not to be responsible for illegally interfering with his contract. Zabala’s attorney now claims through this court filing that:

"Defendant Saul Alvarez has failed to pay the amount of the judgment as set forth in the order and it does not appear that defendant has in his possession sufficient visible property on which a levy can be made to satisfy a judgment," Brito wrote in the motion, a copy of which was obtained by ESPN.

In addition, the motion also requests that the court force Golden Boy, the MGM Grand, T-Mobile Arena, and HBO (all of whom are involved in the Canelo-Chavez Jr fight) to redirect funds that otherwise would be paid to Canelo to Zabala, in order to settle the court’s judgement against Canelo.

Canelo Alvarez is currently appealing the jury’s verdict against him in the Zabala case, with a Golden Boy representative stating:

"Lacking any significant fighters to promote and desperate for publicity, All Star Boxing has decided to employ an improper legal tactic that has no chance at succeeding but has garnered a cheap headline or two," Golden Boy spokesman Stefan Friedman said in a statement to ESPN. "We are fully confident that Canelo will prevail in his appeal and be cleared -- just as Golden Boy was -- forcing All Star Boxing to scramble for relevance in some other way."

We’ll keep you updated on this story as it develops...