While there was a tactical pause in the “Povetkin vs Wilder vs Meldonium” scandal, thanks to the efforts of old Mauricio, here’s a hot story from cold Canada, where serious passions are running high.
Below is a translation of an article from 985fm.ca about the “separation” of manager Anna Reva and Artur Beterbiev.
Yvon Michel gave his word
Artur Beterbiev is undoubtedly used to fighting in the ring, but the legal battle he is currently waging against his former agent, Anna Reva, is unlikely to lead to victory.
When Al Haymon appeared in Yvon Michel's team, Reva's name was simply crossed out from the official documents about cooperation with her boxer.
In 2013, a Montreal businesswoman decided to enter the world of boxing. Having good contacts in the field of this sport in Russia and a keen sense of talented boxers, Reva chooses Artur Beterbiev, her first ward.
At that time, being an amateur boxer, Beterbiev dreamed of a professional career abroad. After an unsuccessful attempt to sign a contract with an agent in Germany, he sets his sights on America. With the help of an intermediary, he came into contact with Reva.
Not speaking the language, Beterbiev embarks on a search for someone who could promote him to the required level, both financially and organizationally.
“He explained to me that he had to support his family and that to do this he needed to receive a salary of $100,000 a year,” Reva explained on radio channel 98.5 FM.
“Having agreed to his terms, I signed a seven-year contract with him.”
And so, with her guaranteed salary of $100,000 plus fees, Reva undertakes to represent Beterbiev until 2020. Her fee was set at 20% of the fees for the fight.
However, Beterbiev's first fees were small, and the boxer soon began to lack money. Especially in anticipation of the arrival of another child. Wanting to support him, Reva spares neither time nor money.
"During negotiations, he demanded more. At one point, he even asked to modify our contract so that he would not have to recoup any funds invested in it. Arthur is a lawyer and was clearly aware of his actions. I was so invested in him and his family, who acted almost like a mother. I took care of every little thing, right down to processing and obtaining visas for them. I did everything to make him and his family feel comfortable.”
Over two years, Reva invested approximately $380,000 in Beterbiev, who was not receiving any significant fees during this early stage of his introduction to the Canadian arena.
Shortly before the fight that was supposed to take place between Beterbiev and Gabriel Campillo, Yvon Michel invited Beterbiev to team up with Al Haymon, whose role was to become an adviser to the Russian boxer. Beterbiev had to finally make a profit and have substantial fees.
Thus, thanks to the efforts of Anna Reva, an annex to the contract was signed, thanks to which Beterbiev’s chances for profitable fights increased significantly. Only at the time of its signing, Reva’s name does not appear in it.
Beterbiev, Haymon and Michel put their signatures, and Reva's name is crossed out from the documents.
It was agreed that Anna Reva would continue to be Beterbiev's full-time manager, with Haymon as his advisor. Michel personally emphasized during the press conference that Reva retains her rightful position in the newly formed team.
"He gave me his word. He called several times a day to assure me of this." Réjean Tremblay, a columnist for the Journal de Montréal, also mentioned this promise in the April 2, 2015 issue; "Anna will keep her place"
But suddenly Beterbiev no longer wants to deal with the one who opened the way for him to Canada. Why - she has no idea. He suddenly refused all communication with her.
"I can guess who contributed to his decision to get rid of me, but I don't want to get too personal. I also know that Arthur wouldn't do that on his own."
After the fight with Campillo, Beterbiev sent Reva a letter saying that she did not represent his interests well enough and that their cooperation was over.
In exchange for her agreement with this statement, Beterbiev and his newly minted associates offered Reva “compensation” in the amount of $50,000, which exactly corresponded to her full commission for this fight.
"Why should I accept this amount as compensation when this is a fee that was legally intended for me? Besides, what is $50,000 when I invested almost $400,000 in this athlete?"
When asked about it last Wednesday at the Yvon Michel Hall, Beterbiev responded reluctantly. He admitted to trying to reach a general agreement without emphasizing that the amount offered was $50,000.
With some feigned embarrassment and obvious arrogance, Beterbiev hinted that no one knew Reva before their collaboration and that she took advantage of him to make a name for herself.
Michelle and Reva came to the conclusion that in response to this type of action, it was necessary to send a legal letter, which would emphasize the legality of Reva receiving her commission. Michel insisted on the need for such a response letter, as he wanted Reva’s interests to be respected. However, when he presented this letter to Beterbiev's lawyers, they refused to go to the meeting.
On at the moment There are no negotiations taking place to reach any agreement between the teams to resolve this never-ending conflict.
“I tried to reason with Beterbiev and convince him to resolve this conflict outside of court, but he does not want to back down in his decision,” said Yvon Michel. "This is a complete disappointment. We had a wonderful relationship with Anna. She lived up to all expectations. It's a pity that it all ended like this."
Reva doesn't believe the Quebec promoter. She understands that things are not as smooth as they want to show her.
She says she doesn't hold a grudge against anyone, but wants to make up for her losses. She is asking for a fair payment of her commission from the fighter’s fees until 2020 or a fair offer to close this issue. Otherwise, she is confident of her victory in court.
“I was tired of hearing this endless gossip, so I finally dared to share my story. And the main lesson in it is that you should never deal with Yvon Michel again.”
Anna Reva continues to fulfill her dream of getting promising boxers on their feet. Her current ward is young Batyr Dzhukembaev.
Arriving in Canada, he immediately won the respect of his coach Stefan LaRouche, who admitted to the press how much he admired the professionalism, seriousness and dedication with which Anna Reva treated him.
It took the Kazakh boxer only six months Batyr Dzhukembaev to fight six fights and win each one. Moreover, all fights ended ahead of schedule. It is worth noting that two fights of Batyr, who competes in the welterweight division, are listed as invalid. In addition, in the amateur ring Dzhukembaev scored 200 victories. What else you need to know about the Kazakh Batyr is in the material.
One can only envy the level of performance of Dzhukembaev, who fights on average one fight per month. In fact, the fast, but champion pace is not accidental. Manager Dzhukembaeva Anna Reva explains the frequency of entering the ring as follows.
“Batyr received a serious injury in his first fight - a torn knee ligament. And it took too much time for subsequent rehabilitation and recovery. I wanted to make up for lost time. I would like to note that we are not going to slow down the set pace. We plan to hold three more fights by the end of the year.”
Answering the question of how he manages to distribute his strength over a fairly large number of fights, the athlete notes that it’s all about the right motivation.
"It all depends on motivation. I am a great patriot of my Motherland. When I enter the ring, I understand what a responsibility it is to the country, to the people, to the people. It is a great honor to compete under the Kazakh flag. In fact, this motivates me very much, I want to show such boxing so that everyone in the world thinks that Kazakhstan is the world country of boxing and no other country can compare with it..
After the failed debut, in which the boxer was injured, it took about five months to recover. The operation was carried out in Kazakhstan. After which he spent three months in a cast. It took another two months for rehabilitation. And despite the severity of the injury, Dzhukembaev soon entered the ring again, but the second fight was not counted. This time on the occasion of an injury to an opponent.
Dzukembaev spent all his fights in Canada. However, this fact has nothing to do with the fact that Anna Reva is a Canadian manager. It's all about the contract that was concluded between Batyr and a promotion company based in Montreal. But judging by how successful and active the boxer is in the ring, the conquest of other countries is just around the corner.
“For now, the fights took place in Canada. This is due, first of all, to the fact that Dzhukembaev signed a contract with a promotion company in Montreal. Today, Batyr’s popularity is growing, and we are planning to organize a fight in the USA..
At one time, Anna worked with Russian boxer Artur Beterbiev. However, the collaboration did not end in the best way (Beterbiev scandalously decided to collaborate with Al Haymon, refusing the services of Reva - editor's note). This happened so unexpectedly for Reva that there was talk in the boxing world that Anna was supposedly going to stop her activities. However, she remained in boxing and is now leading our Dzhukembaev.
“I would like to dispel rumors about the end of my career as a manager. After the break with Beterbiev, I was simply shocked by how he treated me. But I decided not to give up and help Batyr in promoting him professional career. He was recommended to me as a very talented, hardworking and decent person. After my unpleasant experience with Beterbiev, working with Batyr and Ablai (Khusainov) is a pleasure. They are decent, responsible, talented and hardworking young people,” says Reva.
This is how their collaboration began, as well as Dzukembaev’s path in professional boxing. As an amateur, the Kazakh boxer had 225 fights. Of these, he won 200 victories. Batyr’s first coach was Karimzhan Abdrakhmanov. At different times he became the champion of Kazakhstan among youth, the champion of Kazakhstan among students, the winner international tournaments in Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Finland. However, the boxer was not listed as number one on the team. This is what prompted him to switch to professional boxing.
Due to the fact that training process takes place in Canada, the athlete spends most of his time there. He managed to adapt to a foreign country, find friends and even find similarities between his fellow countrymen and residents of Canada. In addition, Dzhukembaev communicates quite closely with Kazakhstanis who live or come to Canada.
“Since I am currently training in Canada, I spend a lot of time here. Like in Kazakhstan, good people live here. During the time spent here, I made many friends and fans. They welcome me very well, like at home. Very hospitable people. I want to say that Kazakhs and Canadians are very similar. First of all, because the priority is the same system of values. My team and I support, I’m not just talking about boxers.”
In the boxing world, some call Batyr a “killer”. First of all, for the power of impact and individual qualities.
“What kind of killer am I?” Dzukembaev laughs. “I would like to say that the ring is a litmus test. It does not forgive missed training and shortcomings. The ring will put everything in its place, and I just do what I love. Boxing is mine work and my life. The main thing is that I have goals. I have a team, a coach, a manager, a promoter. In general, a full-fledged company with which we can always understand and support each other. good time or in difficult times. We are always together and for me this is the most important thing."
Experts note high level technique, as well as the force of impact. In addition, Dzhukembaev has an interesting style and excellent “physics”. According to experts, in the future we can expect large quantity knockouts. And his discipline will only help him achieve great goals.
Manager Dzhukembaeva shares the same opinion and mentioned a possible title fight next year.
“A boxer’s career is not a sprint, but a marathon, and we are heading towards our plans. championship fight, of course there is. I really hope that we will reach the title next year. I don't want to think ahead. The main thing is that we have goals to which we strive. As for Batyr, he has all the qualities of a champion, and he deserves all the belts,” sums up Anna Reva.
Let us add that Dzhukembaev had his last fight on October 23. The opponent of the 25-year-old Kazakhstani in the boxing evening in Montreal (Canada), where the main fight was the fight between Canadian David Lemieux and Argentinean Christian Rios, was 27-year-old Mexican Ivan Pereira. The fight, which included eight rounds, ended in the fifth with a victory by technical knockout of Dzhukembaev.
Photo by karljessy.com and Bob Levesque
Artur Beterbiev in attack
It recently became known that 30-year-old Russian boxer Artur Beterbiev (9(9)-0-0) will hold his next fight against 33-year-old Cuban Sullivan Barrera (16(11)-0-0). Both boxers confirmed their desire to find the best of them in the fight for the status of a contender for the IBF world title, held by another Russian, Sergey Kovalev. The Beterbiev and Barrera teams must come to an agreement on the fight by September 4, otherwise the fight will be put up for promotional bidding.
Cuban Barrera, who lives in Miami, is preparing to make the most of this opportunity, intending to beat Beterbiev and then fight for the world title.
Sullivan Barrera:
“Yes, it hasn’t been easy for me to get to this point in my career, but I’m here and there will be no apologies. All the problems of the past will only help me win this fight. Like I said before, it's now or never."
Beterbiev's opponent, Cuban Sullivan Barrera
Since 2015, Beterbiev has been advised by Al Haymon, who manages the career of world light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson. Due to this, problems arose between Haymon and Main Events, who represent Sergey Kovalev, which led to the disruption of a possible fight between Stevenson and Kovalev, which was planned for last fall.
Artur Beterbiev is also not going to give up his place in the sun to the representative of Cuba and intends to meet with the World Champion, Sergey Kovalev, after defeating the Cuban. Beterbiev had the opportunity to meet Kovalev earlier this year, on November 28 in Moscow, but his team refused the offer from Kovalev's promoter, Katie Duva. Although, perhaps, this is correct for Beterbiev: the more additional time for preparation, the more experience and confidence for the main fight. Still, Beterbiev’s nine victorious fights are extremely few compared to Sergey Kovalev’s 28 fights. Why is there such a hurry?
In addition, Artur Beterbiev fights not only in the ring. Not long ago it became known that he no longer cooperates with his manager, Anna Reva, and is currently suing her. Or perhaps she's with him.
In other words, former manager Beterbieva, Anna Reva, completely disappeared from the world professional boxing after breaking up with her boxer, but the other day she suddenly appeared at the first press conference after the start of the trial against her former protégé. This was reported by Canadian radio 98.5 Sports.
Anna Reva:
“It was very difficult for me financially and emotionally for several months, but I want to put this story behind me and move forward.” Reva did not want to delve into the topic of breaking up with Beterbiev due to the ongoing trial.
In fact, the reason for the press conference was to introduce her new boxer, Kazakh Batyr Jukembaev, but her tone of voice revealed her dislike of GYM and Al Haymon.
Boxing manager Anna Reva and her new prospect, Kazakh Batyr Dzhukembaev
“One day I will be able to tell this story, but for now I find out everything myself from the media. One day Arthur simply disappeared and everything remained that way without explanation,” noted Anna Reva.
From the last training camp in the company of Jean Pascal, Beterbiev suddenly left, leaving training to return to Quebec. According to numerous rumors, agent Al Haymon put enormous pressure on him to give up his representative and join his group.
It seemed unlikely that Beterbiev would leave the woman who introduced him to the world of professional boxing. But despite everything, the Russian decided to turn his back on her. From some sources it became known that Haymon paid him a monetary reward for coming under his wing. From conversations with Reva’s relatives, it became clear that she lost 300-400 thousand dollars because of this breakup, so the case was taken to court.
So, after the Golden Boys lawsuit against Haymon, after the lawsuit filed by Yvon Michel against Camille Estefan, this is the third one, between Reva and Beterbiev. Boxing judges give way to civilian judges to settle disputes.”
I would like to hope that despite the looming legal battle between Reva and Beterbiev, the parties will reconcile and conclude, for example, a settlement agreement. Fans of big-time boxing will eagerly watch the fight at the champion's throne at boxing shows and on TV screens. They want to see real battles in the ring, not in court.
Sullivan Barrera – Jeff Lacy (video)
, the best from Kolesnikov
Photo: themainfight.com/roundbyroundboxing.com
