DiBella Entertainment has filed a lawsuit in United States district court against junior lightweight contender O’Shaquie Foster after Foster claimed he was no longer under contract to the New York promoter. The lawsuit, filed by veteran boxing attorney John Wirt, makes it clear that this lawsuit is about one issue: whether DiBella Entertainment was allowed extra time to get Foster the required number of bouts in light of the the coronavirus pandemic. Here is what the lawsuit alleges (which of course is not yet proven, but there should be little dispute): 

Foster signed a Promotional Agreement with DiBella Entertainment on April 14, 2019. It called for three fights in the first year of the contract.

 

Foster’s first bout under the Promotional Agreement took place on July 17, 2019. It was a win over Jesus Bravo (19-2-1) in Costa Rica. His second bout took place on December 5, 2019. It was a win over Alberto Mercado (16-4-1) in New York City. A third fight was due by April 14, 2020. But the coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020, and Foster did not fight again until November 19, 2020.

 

On July 14, 2020, during the heart of the pandemic, DiBella Entertainment sent Foster an e-mail tolling the Promotional Agreement due to the pandemic. 

 

On September 18, 2020, DiBella Entertainment offered Foster the November fight and sent an e-mail saying the tolling period would end after six months, from March 18 through September 18, 2020. According to DiBella Entertainment, Foster accepted the offer and the terms contained in the e-mail.

Foster went ahead with the November 19th fight and got a win over internationally-known Miguel Roman in Los Angeles on a Ring City broadcast. Foster got near-unanimous praise for his efforts and the nationally broadcast fight brought him new levels of notoriety. 

On December 8, 2020, Foster publicly lauded Lou DiBella, tweeting “Just found out I’m ranked #4 in the world by the WBC. Thankful to my team, @loudibella and @WBCBoxing for this opportunity.”

 

However, on February 11, 2021, Foster’s attorney, Rodney Drinnon wrote to DiBella stating that Foster was no longer bound by the Promotional Rights Agreement because DiBella Entertainment breached it by failing to provide Foster with three bouts by July 16, 2020. According to Drinnon, DiBella Entertainment could not suspend the Promotional Agreement due to the coronavirus pandemic because “force majeure clauses, as a rule, cannot be used to extend or avoid performance relating to personal services contracts.”

 

In filing the lawsuit against Foster, DiBella Entertainment wrote, “Foster and his representatives have reaped the benefit of DiBella Entertainment’s hard work, expertise, and investment on Foster’s behalf which has resulted in Foster’s current world ranking and opportunity for a world title shot. Foster now wishes to sever ties with DiBella Entertainment based on the ridiculous argument that DiBella Entertainment is not permitted to suspend the Promotional Agreement due to the shutdown of boxing that occurred worldwide as a result of the pandemic.”