Tag: Greg Cohen

Jarrell Miller signs multi-fight deal with Top Rank

Heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller has signed a multi-fight deal with Top Rank, it was announced Wednesday.

Jarrell Miller’s next move wasn’t a big secret. But it’s official. The heavyweight who calls himself Big Baby signed a multi-fight deal with Top Rank, it was announced Wednesday.

Miller, who was rumored to be in talks with Top Rank for months, reached an oral agreement with the promotional entity a couple of weeks ago, according to The Athletic.

The controversial Miller, who hasn’t fought since a stoppage of Bogdan Dinu in November 2018, was supposed to fight Anthony Joshua on June 1 last year but was disqualified when he failed a drug test. Andy Ruiz Jr. stepped in as a late sub and the rest is history. Ruiz stunned Joshua in a huge upset and then Joshua took back his belts on Dec. 7 with a decision over Ruiz in a rematch.

“Minor setback for a major comeback,’’ Miller (23-0-1, 20 KOs) said in a release announcing the deal. “I’m coming for everything and everyone. No one is safe. Say hello to the bad guy.

“Everyone wants to portray the superhero. We don’t live in a sunshine world. I’ll never be the superhero. In my world, the majority of the time, the villain wins.”

The Big Villain, all 300-plus pounds of him, gives Top Rank another heavyweight in a division that has been heating up as it awaits the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder rematch on Feb 22 on ESPN/Fox pay-per-view at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand. Top Rank co-promotes Fury

Miller’s Top Rank deal comes about a month after his co-promoter, Greg Cohen, was sentenced in New York to six months in federal prison for wire fraud involving a loan for a stock investment.

Cohen’s sentence also includes three years under supervised release and 150 hours of community service. Cohen, who co-promotes Miller with Dmitriy Salita, was quoted in the Top Rank release.

“I couldn’t be happier that after months of hard work and perseverance, we were able to make this deal a reality,” Cohen said. “Top Rank is the perfect partner and ESPN the perfect platform for Jarrell to realize his full potential and become the dominant force in the heavyweight division. Time for Big Baby to get back in the ring!”

Top Rank chairman Bob Arum was optimistic about Miller and his chances of playing a serious role in the heavyweight division.

“Jarrell Miller is serious about coming back, doing things the right way and becoming heavyweight champion of the world,” Arum said. “He is one of boxing’s most unique and exciting characters, but most importantly, he can fight.”

 

Former employee sues promoter Greg Cohen for $1.5 million

Promoter Greg Cohen has at least one legal wrangle to sort out before he heads to federal prison. Clifford Mass seeks $1.5 million

Promoter Greg Cohen has at least one legal wrangle to sort out before he heads to federal prison.

Clifford Mass, a former employee of Cohen’s promotional company, is seeking more than $1.5 million in damages from Cohen for breach of contract, unpaid wages, breach of fiduciary duties, misrepresentation and fraud over an investment agreement that has not been fulfilled. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York on Jan. 31 of last year. The parties are expected to settle at a conference scheduled for Dec. 4.

Cohen was sentenced last week to six months in federal prison for wire fraud unrelated to boxing. He had 60 days to turn himself in.

According to Mass’ complaint, in March 2015 he invested $250,000 in Greg Cohen Promotions for a 5 percent financial stake. The arrangement called for Mass to “receive a 25 percent preferred return of the Promotional Profits until (he) received his $250,000.00 investment back” in addition to receiving “5 percent of the Promotional Profits in perpetuity.” Promotional profits are defined as revenue generated from not only GCP-promoted events, but also cases in which GCP fighters participated in events organized by other promoters. Cohen’s best known fighter is heavyweight contender Jarrell Miller (co-promoted by Dmitry Salita), who received a six-month ban in New York after testing positive for PEDs ahead of his projected fight against Anthony Joshua last summer.

Mass was employed by GCP from April 2015 to February 2018, or up until he filed his claim. His official title at GCP was Vice President of Business Development. According to the complaint, Mass was described at one point on the GCP website as “Right-hand man to Greg Cohen. … He works closely with Greg in talent acquisition, relationship management, strategic planning and various day-to-day aspects of the business.”

Mass claims that ever since he entered into the investment agreement, he has not received his cut from more than 40 GCP events and others staged by outside promoters, which include, but are not limited to, the following:

July 29, 2017 bout featuring Jarrell Miller
Nov. 11, 2017 bout featuring Jarrell Miller
Dec. 19, 2016 bout featuring Mason Menard
April 8, 2016 bout featuring Eric Hunter
March 5, 2016 bout featuring Antoine Douglas
Dec. 5, 2014 bout featuring Dennis Hogan
April 15, 2014 featuring Tony Louis

Mass is also looking to recover $14,000 he says he loaned to Cohen in January 2016. Mass says Cohen “demanded” the loan and that it would be repaid in two months. Mass arranged to wire the loan out of “concern for retribution.”

The lawsuit comes to light as Cohen stares down a six-month prison sentence for wire fraud after accepting $200,000 from an unnamed party for an investment that was never made.

Jarrell Miller co-promoter Greg Cohen sentenced to prison for wire fraud

Promoter Greg Cohen was sentenced to 6 months in prison for wire fraud last week in the Southern District Court of New York.

Boxing promoter Greg Cohen is headed to federal prison for wire fraud.

Cohen was sentenced last week in the The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York to six months in prison, three years supervised release and 150 hours of community service on one count of defrauding an individual by means of false pretenses, a federal offense.

Cohen accepted $200,000 for a stock investment that he never made in 2016. A spokesperson with the Department of Justice confirmed that the matter is unrelated to boxing. Cohen had 60 days to surrender for his term of imprisonment.

Cohen, who promotes middleweight Rob Brant and heavyweight Jarrell Miller, pleaded guilty to the charge, in accordance with a plea agreement with the government, and agreed to repay the $200,000.

In court documents obtained by Boxing Junkie, Cohen “induced a victim to invest in a purported stock transaction,” in the amount of $200,000, and which was to be “facilitated by a particular investment manager and had a guaranteed return, when in truth and fact there was no stock transaction, the particular investment manager was not at all involved and the return was not guaranteed.”

The victim claimed he asked Cohen to refund the investment, plus interest, within approximately 90 days but Cohen continually delayed repayment. In November 2017, the victim reached out to the the investment manager purportedly involved in the transaction only to discover that the manager had no knowledge of the kind of stock the victim described. Cohen’s bank records corroborated this, as they showed no evidence of a wire transfer to the manager in the amount of $200,000.

Cohen was arrested on Jan. 10, 2019 but released on bail.

He was able to modify his bail terms to travel to Japan this past July to accompany Brant for a middleweight fight against Ryota Murata.