Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Press Continues Coverage of Peterson Saga!

The monetary and contract situations involving the Undefeated Peterson Brothers continue to gain national and international press. Here are two articles that do a fine job of bringing out more details of the situation. Please read both carefully, before drawing opinions.

This one comes from one of the premier writers in boxing -- Thomas Hauser of Secondsout.com -- who wrote this article for ESPN.com:

"http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=3414631">

Then comes this article from one of the better investigative boxing writers in the world -- Michael Swann of 15Rounds.com:

"http://www.15rounds.com/Columns/mswann/point-060308.php">

10 comments:

ACW said...

I don't know who's at fault here, but this whole thing seems sketchy. Your thoughts Digital (and BTW, is Hunter still managing the Petersons?)?

Gary Digital Williams said...

Yes, Hunter is very much involved with the Petersons as their trainer.

I don't know if anyone is "at fault." This is more a situations of two ways of doing business colliding.

The biggest question I have is why Prize Fight was never allowed to sign the Petersons to longer term deals. They are one of the big losers in this situation, considering the type of exposure the Petersons (as well as Ty Barnett, Reggie Taylor and Fernando Guerrero, among others) have received. I do believe (and this is based on information I have received off the record) that Finkel seemed not to work with Prize Fight in a above-board manner.

Just my opinion.

Anonymous said...

Definitely seems that way Gary. This is a great lesson for anyone doing business. HIRE A GOOD ATTORNEY WHEN SIGNING ANYTHING (preferrably a contract attorney). I can't remember the first athlete to forgo using an agent and get an attorney to review his contract. But he started a trend that has benefitted all professional athletes. Lawyers take a smaller fee (compared to an agent) and can often negotiate a better deal based on current 'market values'.

This is a good lesson to learn early on and I'm glad that it didn't cost them as much as other pro athletes who have trusted others and accepted handshake/verbal agreements.

Anonymous said...

There is absolutely ZERO doubt in my mind - The Peterson Brothers would be nowhere near where they are without Shelly Finkel. Think about all the times they have been on TV. Think about how many fights they've gotten in their young career's thus far. That's all Finkel. Now it does appear that Finkel negotiated a side deal in which he pocketed over $300,000 without the Peterson's knowledge. He justifies this by saying he didn't take a managerial fee or commission from the Petersons. Perhaps Finkel views the upfront money he received as his commission, who knows? In my opinion, the right thing to do would have been to tell the boys about the upfront money and cut them in on a considerable share. However, would the boys have been as hungry to be successful in boxing with several hundred thousand dollars in their accout after being homeless just a short time before? All valid points, but what Finkel should have done was tell the boys about the money, give them the majority of it, take his fee from the money, and take his fee on a fight by fight basis from the Petersons. It is clear to me that he was being underhanded in this whole thing. With that said, the boys probably wouldn't have half the fights they have now, half the money, etc.

Anonymous said...

Have you guys seen tony thompson weekly blog about training camp and germany?

Anonymous said...

for all those who don't know the truth reading is fund. shelly is a snake go to espn.com and read how shelly took cold advantage of a situation of two good brother then you'll will never speak bad about barry or anyone else who love those two brother

Anonymous said...

Just don't let Chris Middendoforus get near them and they will be fine. Go Petersons!

Linda "Great Shot" Siadys said...

Why? Isn't Chris Middendorf one of the top matchers out there? According to the articles he was not affiliated in any way with this. So why dredge his name into it? interested in your answer.

Anonymous said...

Chris is a want to be Match maker

Gary Digital Williams said...

I don't know how you can say Chris is a want to be matchmaker.

Especially when it has been documented that he is busier than any other matchmaker in the sport.