Light Heavyweight contender Artur Beterbiev is trying to part ways with his promoter Yvin Michel, according to Dan Rafael espn.com.
“My dear friends, fans and supporters, as many of you have already heard, my lawyer has filed [Tuesday] morning a demand for Declaratory Judgment asking the Superior Court in Montreal to confirm that my promotional agreement with Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) is effectively terminated/expired,” Beterbiev said in a statement posted on social media. “I have nothing personal against Yvon Michel and everything is fine on my end. I keep training hard to get back in the ring and become World Champion ASAP. That has always been, and will always be, my sole focus and goal in my professional [career]. Thanks for your support!”
Michel did not dispute that Beterbiev is seeking to end their contract, telling ESPN, “Beterbiev is considering his contract is terminated with GYM and he is asking a Quebec judge to confirm it. We believe otherwise and we have arguments to back it up. It may take several weeks before having a judgment. Meantime we are still Beterbiev’s promoter and we have made a deal with [Team] Sauerland representative Chris Meyer for the services of Enrico Koelling for the IBF title eliminator [to be] the mandatory contender to Andre Ward.”
“We have a tentative date for July 29 in Quebec City,” Michel said. “The date and the site may change. We are talking with PBC. We have until May 19 to deposit the contract to the IBF and make the final call for the date and place.”
