Jermaine Franklin has filed a lawsuit against Salita promotions just seven days before his blockbuster bout with Anthony Joshua.
Franklin – who is set to face Joshua at the O2 Arena on April 1st – filed the civil lawsuit against Dmitriy Salita’s company on Friday night.
Franklin is suing Salita promotions over the percentage the company are entitled to ‘when they’re not acting as a promoter, co- promoter or involved in a purse bid.’
Franklin’s team feel Salita promotions have been taking advantage of their current contract – especially in circumstances where their ‘only duty is to give Franklin permission to engage in a boxing match’.
The lawsuit states that the current agreement has allowed Salita promotions to ‘take whatever amount it desires, while ignoring any negotiations proffered by Franklin’s team including his legal advisor.’
Jermaine Franklin (left) filed a lawsuit against Salita promotions on Friday evening
The American heavyweight boxer filed the lawsuit seven days before his bout with AJ
The lawsuit also states that Salita has given Franklin two choices for his last two professional bouts. They were said to be: ‘agree to the percentage and terms it demands, or don’t fight’.
Franklin says he needs this intervention, or ‘he will continue to be subjected to this ‘take it or leave it’ boxing industry tactic or risk the unreasonable withholding of lucrative, career changing boxing opportunities.’
The lawsuit also outlined the series of events that lead up to Franklin’s fight with Dillian Whyte in November 2022.
According to the suit, Salita sent Franklin a bout agreement claiming that all it needed was the American heavyweight’s signature to make the fight happen.
Believing his signature on the bout agreement confirmed the fight, Franklin began calling Whyte out on social media urging him to sign his bout agreement.
However, Franklin later learned that Salita never confirmed the Whyte fight for Franklin – according to the suit.
Instead Salita was said to be in negotiations for a fight between Whyte and Otto Wallin, another boxer he promotes.
To add insult to injury, Franklin was reportedly asked by Otto’s manager to spar with the Swedish boxer ahead of his fight with Whyte.
Franklin, who was struggling financially, agreed to help Otto train for the fight he thought was his.
However, the fight between Otto and Whyte never materialised as Whyte sustained a shoulder injury.
After the disappointment subsided, Franklin went on to search for a co-manager and signed an agreement with an independent company.
They reportedly used their contacts to renegotiate terms with Whyte over a blockbuster bout.
According to the lawsuit, they were able to confirm a professional fight with a greater amount than originally proposed by Salita. The deal is also said to have included a sizeable training camp advance.
However, the lawsuit states that Salita would not agree to the fight unless his terms were met.
According to the the lawsuit, Franklin was told he could either ‘sign the Salita bout agreement as it was or risk forfeiting a boxing match that could change the trajectory of his career’.
Franklin (left) was last seen in the ring on November 26 when he took on Whyte (right)
Franklin felt he had no alternative and signed the bout agreement under Salita’s terms.
Whyte defeated Franklin by a majority decision, with the judges scoring the fight 115-115, 116-112 and 116-112 in the Brit’s favour.
However, Franklin was adamant he was robbed of a result after showing immense desire and heart to go the distance with Whyte.
Nevertheless, Franklin was eager to build on the momentum created from the Whyte fight and push for another top 15 bout.
Jermaine’s co-manager thought he was worthy of a fight with Joshua – who has not stepped foot in the ring since his second-successive defeat by Oleksandr Usyk in August 2022.
However, according to the lawsuit, Salita was pushing for Otto to face Joshua instead.
Nevertheless, Matchroom offered Franklin the AJ fight.
According to the lawsuit, Matchroom are the ‘sole promoters of the fight and have been bearing all the costs including the amount of Franklin’s purse.’
It is believed Salita’s ‘only duty was to give permission for Franklin to fight’. However, he is said to have been asking for his regular cut.
According to the suit, Franklin was given 20 minutes to make a decision or risk Matchroom finding another fighter.
As a result, Franklin agreed to all of Salita’s terms and signed on the dotted line.
However, Franklin is said to have made a few suggestions ahead of signing the paperwork to avoid court intervention.
These were said to be: ‘(1) hire an outside mediator to settle all contractual dispute; (2) file a joint request for a declaratory judgment; and/or (3) sign a Stipulated agreement placing 30 per cent of the AJ POS amount in escrow until a good faith negotiation can take place but allowing Franklin to fight.
Salita is said to have declined these suggestions. Therefore, Franklin filed Friday’s lawsuit.
Franklin will also go before Congress in the United States of America after his fight with Joshua to try and get the Muhammad Ali act changed.
After Sportsmail reached out to Salita for comment, the promoter said: ‘I am surprised and disappointed! I just visited Jermaine in camp in Florida before he left for the UK and everything was good between us.
‘We have done a great job with Jermaine since he started fighting under our promotional banner in 2019. His first fight with Salita Promotions was also his first fight on television and it was, by multiples, a career high pay day for him. We kept him active and got him great television exposure up until the time when he filed for bankruptcy.
‘After that we brought him back and worked to get him the opportunity against Dillian Whyte. As Eddie stated at the press conference for Joshua vs Franklin, we started positioning Jermaine for the fight against AJ even before the decision in the Whyte fight was announced.
‘When I first signed Jermaine I told him that he had the ability to be one of the best heavyweights in the world. And since that moment I have worked diligently to make sure that Jermaine realises his full potential and to offer him the best opportunities.
‘We have delivered throughout his career and we continue to deliver for him. On April 1 he has the opportunity to catapult himself to the top level of the heavyweight division and I believe he has all of the skills necessary to score the upset.’
