Ricky Burns goes bankrupt

According to the Herald Scotland, Burns has declared himself bankrupt with £400,000 worth of debt and just £229 in assets,
Such a sad situation for for a genuinly nice guy

Poor fella, looks like he's going to have to fight on now, at least he want have to pay Warren but it's a shame it's come to that.

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/fallen-world-boxing-champ-ricky-5394541

Blame Frank Warren.

At least he's taken a leaf out of fish-eye scumbag's books.

Feel for Burns. These last two years have been a nightmare for him. Joining Matchroom while they were having their boom and getting back on Sky seemed like a great thing for him at the time - instead it jut coincided with his form completely falling by the wayside, and now it's resulted in him not having a pot to piddle in.

He might still earn a few quid as a divisional gatekeeper in the remainder of his career, and maybe there can still be some decent domestic fights with Coyle, Campbell, Matthews, Crolla etc (although with Burns having apparently 'outgrown' Lightweight they're not a given anymore) but unless Hearn can pull off some phenomenal promoting he's going to have relatively little to show for all those world title fights and brave, gutsy showings against an impressive class of fighter when he's retired. Someone like Audley (feel bad directing any more hate his way, as he gets his fair share already!) on the other hand can retire with plenty in the bank and with the highlife in LA to look forward to.

Sure, some of that is down to Audley's Olympic gold and the fact that he always knew how to play the game, but even so it must be gutting for Burns to see someone who, as a pro, showed only a fraction of the same drive and ability that he did walk away with so many more spoils than him.

Such a shame to hear this and under such disgusting circumstances. The most saddening part of this is that we all know he'll continue to box and, from recent showing, put hos health in serious risk.

Good point made regarding Audley Chris. It must really rankle a lot of the current and retired pros how successful he was and the fact that it was effectively handed to him on a plate. It goes to show how important it is to be able to sell yourself well - to the public and behind the scenes in all negotiations. It was probably Audleys greatest ability.

Can only echo the general sentiments that this is a terrible pity. One does have to question Alex Morrison in all this, his job is manager, just scratching the surface it would appear he has not advised his client how to invest his earnings particularly prudently and has allowed him to switch promoter without ensuring he has no financial obligations to his former promoter. Does make you wonder what he has bought to the table to justify his fee.

Whilst it's easy to criticize Audley, you have to take into the account the stupidity of the BBC who failed to recognize that fact that, despite having an Olympic gold medal, Audley didn't have what it took to be a HW champion and they should never have lumped all that cash on him. One should also highlight the stupidity of the public for falling for the hype/tripe and not using their eyes to see he wasn't actually all that good.

Feel sorry for Burns but again, we have an example of why some people should never be allowed to have a significant amount of money as the lack they commonsense to invest it wisely and leave themselves in a situation where, once the bubble has burst, they aren't just left with fluff in the pockets

I think you have to look at his advisors though like Rowley said Dave.

Maybe he knew he was no good with money and trusted his manager, lawyers to point him in the right direction. If so then they've failed him big time.

He should have taken a leaf out of Andre Ward's book.

I believe Mr Ward is a bit of an investment geek and reads Forbes magazine rather than Nuts and Zoo. Probably why he can't be arsed fighting anymore as he has cash rolling in from other sources.

Although he is the Son of God so must be getting good advice from daddy.

I though he had a job in JD Sports?

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:I though he had a job in JD Sports?

Who, God or Andre?

The Rickster

Terrible.

he made such a name for himself. Should have capitalized on all the over the top hype he received.

Now he has to do it all over again.

He should have known what wazza is about really due to his previous.

Makes you wonder how wazza manages to get away with it all the time. I know HOW he does it but still....

Derbymanc wrote:I think you have to look at his advisors though like Rowley said Dave.

Maybe he knew he was no good with money and trusted his manager, lawyers to point him in the right direction. If so then they've failed him big time.

Well, there's plenty of precedent to say that you can't leave Warren while under contract. You don't need a manager to tell you that.

It's because Warren gets everyone more than their money's worth ...until they try to leave him. Then he Frak em over. Warren shafts the fans more than he does his own fighters who under ordinary circumstances probably wouldn't make that much. If I was a prospect I'd probably go to Warren first in the knowledge that when I leave he'd do me out of a good chunk of my money but i'd probably be matched in a way I can make a lot of money for my family without too much risk. Warran is an absolute bastard but if you stick with him you make a lot of money for not much ability.

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:He should have known what wazza is about really due to his previous.

Makes you wonder how wazza manages to get away with it all the time. I know HOW he does it but still....

Because he has legitimate contracts, to protect himself from the fact that most promotions lose money.

Just got to make sure what your sigining up for. Like fixed time period contract rather the a fight by fight one etc. So he cant let you linger if you have one fight to go.

Majority of boxers arent the sharpest tools and probs should try and seek more guidance before making rash decisions.

I think the perception was that Warren was sinking and Ricky thought it would be a good idea to jump ship. Except Warren being the cunning weasel that he is protected himself with standard business practices that people are quite willing to exploit until it happens to them.

Scottrf wrote:

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:He should have known what wazza is about really due to his previous.

Makes you wonder how wazza manages to get away with it all the time. I know HOW he does it but still....

Because he has legitimate contracts, to protect himself from the fact that most promotions lose money.

Well that's not the boxers fault that he promises more money and fails to deliver. How many times has he 'dissolved' he promotional company now. Makes you wonder what role (if any) he officially holds these days. I wouldn't have thought he'd be allowed anywhere near an executive position. Or even allowed to walk past a bank.

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:

Scottrf wrote:

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:He should have known what wazza is about really due to his previous.

Makes you wonder how wazza manages to get away with it all the time. I know HOW he does it but still....

Because he has legitimate contracts, to protect himself from the fact that most promotions lose money.

Well that's not the boxers fault that he promises more money and fails to deliver. How many times has he 'dissolved' he promotional company now. Makes you wonder what role (if any) he officially holds these days. I wouldn't have thought he'd be allowed anywhere near an executive position. Or even allowed to walk past a bank.

That's because he doesn't cost investors a penny. Easier bumming fighters who won't be paying you anymore anyway...quite another doing over people who've invested their money in it.

I would like to see sight of one his 'standard' contracts.

Scottrf wrote:

Soldier_Of_Fortune wrote:He should have known what wazza is about really due to his previous.

Makes you wonder how wazza manages to get away with it all the time. I know HOW he does it but still....

Because he has legitimate contracts, to protect himself from the fact that most promotions lose money.

Legitimate contracts that he chooses not to honour....

Ricky Hatton gave an interesting insight as to what is considered a "legitimate contract" in his biography. He said he received a letter about something trivial from Warren about training or accommodation expenses or such like. He said at the bottom of the letter in the small print it said something along the lines of, by signing this letter you also agree to be represented by Sports Network for your next three fights. If those are the kinds of contracts and practices common place in boxing is it any wonder that fighters and other promoters pay them little notice.

Rowley wrote:Ricky Hatton gave an interesting insight as to what is considered a "legitimate contract" in his biography. He said he received a letter about something trivial from Warren about training or accommodation expenses or such like. He said at the bottom of the letter in the small print it said something along the lines of, by signing this letter you also agree to be represented by Sports Network for your next three fights. If those are the kinds of contracts and practices common place in boxing is it any wonder that fighters and other promoters pay them little notice.

That's quite funny actually although being on the end of it isn't.

A couple of thoughts. I'm sure prior to declaring bankruptcy he "reallocated" any assets he had.

Secondly, given that he jumped ship to Matchroom, surely after taking advice from them, I would have thought they would have stepped in and offered to pay the legal bill and damages.

Group Cpt Lionel Mandrake wrote:A couple of thoughts. I'm sure prior to declaring bankruptcy he "reallocated" any assets he had.

Secondly, given that he jumped ship to Matchroom, surely after taking advice from them, I would have thought they would have stepped in and offered to pay the legal bill and damages.

I'll give you a minute to read that back to yourself out loud. Maybe then you'll find it as tragically funny as I did

DAVE667 wrote:

Group Cpt Lionel Mandrake wrote:A couple of thoughts. I'm sure prior to declaring bankruptcy he "reallocated" any assets he had.

Secondly, given that he jumped ship to Matchroom, surely after taking advice from them, I would have thought they would have stepped in and offered to pay the legal bill and damages.

I'll give you a minute to read that back to yourself out loud. Maybe then you'll find it as tragically funny as I did

Yeah, I know, but it's nice to live in hope!

Rowley wrote:Ricky Hatton gave an interesting insight as to what is considered a "legitimate contract" in his biography. He said he received a letter about something trivial from Warren about training or accommodation expenses or such like. He said at the bottom of the letter in the small print it said something along the lines of, by signing this letter you also agree to be represented by Sports Network for your next three fights. If those are the kinds of contracts and practices common place in boxing is it any wonder that fighters and other promoters pay them little notice.

I once received a contract from a landlords that tried to slip something funny in like that ( probably one the 606 property tycoons no doubt ). I thought we had a good relationship with them, I had kept the place nice ( we improved it after consulting with them if anything ) and we always paid without issue. Then we agreed over the phone to a short extension of 3 months when the contract was coming up for renewal as we needed somewhere bigger. They said no problem, they would get their agent to send through a short contract at some point but that was fine. When it arrived it was all good except for a strangely worded part near the end that I felt uncomfortable with. It was vague and indirect. I showed to a few people, all familiar with legal contracts and all said it was fine but agreed it was worded strangely. I was assured by everyone that read it that after 3 months we could move out without any hassle or ties.

Being unsure I asked for clarification from the agent before I signed and returned. Sure enough the contract implied that everyone was happy for me to give 3 months of official notice ( over 4 in total if you count the initial discussions ). However, after the initial contract extension had expired and if the poor landlord, that was living in a detached gated property in a very upmarket area, couldn't find a tenant I was to pay rent on the empty property for an additional 3 months.

Erm.... No!

As it happened, they never intended to let it again and instead they did it up and moved their pregnant daughter in. I think they had planned to class that as "unoccupied" with muggins paying.

Things like this are underhand, happen all the time, and I learnt from it.

Group Cpt Lionel Mandrake wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:

Group Cpt Lionel Mandrake wrote:A couple of thoughts. I'm sure prior to declaring bankruptcy he "reallocated" any assets he had.

Secondly, given that he jumped ship to Matchroom, surely after taking advice from them, I would have thought they would have stepped in and offered to pay the legal bill and damages.

I'll give you a minute to read that back to yourself out loud. Maybe then you'll find it as tragically funny as I did

Yeah, I know, but it's nice to live in hope!

Ricky should've taken independent legal advice as it's a legal matter which Matchroom were in no position to advise him on. He would then be able to sue his lawyer.

Eddie said Ricky had nothing to worry about. When things went bad Barry said "We are promoters not lawyers". I could think of a couple of other adjectives to describe that weaselly runt.

Sounds like Ricky wasn't paid what he was owed by Warren, jumped ship to Hearn, got sued, lost, and now has to pay 200k in lawyer fees. All of this at a point where he is shot as a boxer. He used to work at Sports Direct for fun, and now it sounds like he'll be back there out of necessity soon enough. Very sad news indeed. I can only hope he has some money put away somewhere Warren can't get it.

Without sounding like an idiot....or cold hearted.......how the feck do these people go Bankrupt??? I earn well enough to live my life pay my bills and have some change for savings.....I don't bring millions or tens of thousands....I just get paid and live my life. If someone gave me £400k it would last me over 10 years. It's absolute insanity like when Holyfield went bust?! I'm just amazed.

Im sure Hearn is getting his chequebook out as we speak to cover all this given how much he cares about his fighters....

Maybe Burns has blown his money on things he shouldnt have, maybe hes been hung out to dry and poorly advised by his current and former employers. Hard to sympathise too much without knowing the facts. Hes a popular guy in Scotland so you would think he still as some opportunities in life.

Audley may have blown it in the pros but he worked extremely hard and was very smart as an amateur. He was at least as dedicated, had far better business sense and more talented as amateur than Ricky was as a pro. How many guys earn millions purely on the back of their amateur career? Audley did well for himself

DuransHorse wrote:

Rowley wrote:Ricky Hatton gave an interesting insight as to what is considered a "legitimate contract" in his biography. He said he received a letter about something trivial from Warren about training or accommodation expenses or such like. He said at the bottom of the letter in the small print it said something along the lines of, by signing this letter you also agree to be represented by Sports Network for your next three fights. If those are the kinds of contracts and practices common place in boxing is it any wonder that fighters and other promoters pay them little notice.

I once received a contract from a landlords that tried to slip something funny in like that ( probably one the 606 property tycoons no doubt ).  I thought we had a good relationship with them, I had kept the place nice ( we improved it after consulting with them if anything ) and we always paid without issue.  Then we agreed over the phone to a short extension of 3 months when the contract was coming up for renewal as we needed somewhere bigger.  They said no problem, they would get their agent to send through a short contract at some point but that was fine.  When it arrived it was all good except for a strangely worded part near the end that I felt uncomfortable with.  It was vague and indirect. I showed to a few people, all familiar with legal contracts and all said it was fine but agreed it was worded strangely. I was assured by everyone that read it that after 3 months we could move out without any hassle or ties.  

Being unsure I asked for clarification from the agent before I signed and returned.  Sure enough the contract implied that everyone was happy for me to give 3 months of official notice ( over 4 in total if you count the initial discussions ).  However, after the initial contract extension had expired and if the poor landlord, that was living in a detached gated property in a very upmarket area, couldn't find a tenant I was to pay rent on the empty property for an additional 3 months.

Erm.... No!

As it happened, they never intended to let it again and instead they did it up and moved their pregnant daughter in.  I think they had planned to class that as "unoccupied" with muggins paying.

Things like this are underhand, happen all the time, and I learnt from it.

Sorry about that duran, water under the bridge I hope.

catchweight wrote:Im sure Hearn is getting his chequebook out as we speak to cover all this given how much he cares about his fighters....

You mock, but Eddie has a heart. I hear he's offered Ricky a job selling strawberries.

Anyway no doubt a tactical bankruptcy from Ricky to avoid paying frank's legal fees.

He has now officially become cannon fodder even though we knew he was headed that way anyway. But this cements it. He will have to fight to survive now whereas he shouldn't have been at the stage of the Mitchell win

milkyboy wrote:

catchweight wrote:

Anyway no doubt a tactical bankruptcy from Ricky to avoid paying frank's legal fees.

This.

It's not a Holyfield-esque situation where he's spent all his money on mansions and 500 illegitimate kids.

He'll have signed his house over to his wife/ girlfriend, transferred any assets elsewhere etc then declared bankruptcy.[/quote]

Group Cpt Lionel Mandrake wrote:

milkyboy wrote:

catchweight wrote:

Anyway no doubt a tactical bankruptcy from Ricky to avoid paying frank's legal fees.

This.

It's not a Holyfield-esque situation where he's spent all his money on mansions and 500 illegitimate kids.

He'll have signed his house over to his wife/ girlfriend, transferred any assets elsewhere etc then declared bankruptcy.

[/quote]

That would of course be quite illegal. I'm sure a good lawyer will find ways round it but they'd have to be more subtle than that.

Thing with money is that you live within your means. As I've had pay rises over the years I've became more extravagant with my cash (nicer car, clothes etc), everyone does this so I can understand how someone earning a very good wage, whilst not being filthy rich, could let this happen to them. If you're not careful you can get caught out.

Strongback wrote:Eddie said Ricky had nothing to worry about. When things went bad Barry said "We are promoters not lawyers".  I could think of a couple of other adjectives to describe that weaselly runt.

Great, this tedious BS again.



Take legal advice off someone who is not a lawyer and you only have yourself to blame......

Marco_Marky - Stuffington wrote:

Group Cpt Lionel Mandrake wrote:

milkyboy wrote:

catchweight wrote:

Anyway no doubt a tactical bankruptcy from Ricky to avoid paying frank's legal fees.

This.

It's not a Holyfield-esque situation where he's spent all his money on mansions and 500 illegitimate kids.

He'll have signed his house over to his wife/ girlfriend, transferred any assets elsewhere etc then declared bankruptcy.

That would of course be quite illegal. I'm sure a good lawyer will find ways round it but they'd have to be more subtle than that.

Thing with money is that you live within your means. As I've had pay rises over the years I've became more extravagant with my cash (nicer car, clothes etc), everyone does this so I can understand how someone earning a very good wage, whilst not being filthy rich, could let this happen to them. If you're not careful you can get caught out.[/quote]

Lucky you, I've gone the other way. When I was young I had little money... but at least it was ALL mine to throw away on nice stuff. Now my kids wear the latest gear and I get most of my stuff of ebay!

Strongback wrote:Eddie said Ricky had nothing to worry about. When things went bad Barry said "We are promoters not lawyers".  I could think of a couple of other adjectives to describe that weaselly runt.

Think you'll find the real weasel in all of this is Warren.

TopHat24/7 wrote:

Strongback wrote:Eddie said Ricky had nothing to worry about. When things went bad Barry said "We are promoters not lawyers".  I could think of a couple of other adjectives to describe that weaselly runt.

Great, this tedious BS again.



Take legal advice off someone who is not a lawyer and you only have yourself to blame......

Its a pity for Ricky he was so naive he didn't realise the lanky perma-tanned quiffed mockney with his arm around him was actually a slime ball.


I don't screw over people I do work with, its bad for business.

Marco_Marky - Stuffington wrote:

Group Cpt Lionel Mandrake wrote:

milkyboy wrote:

catchweight wrote:

Anyway no doubt a tactical bankruptcy from Ricky to avoid paying frank's legal fees.

This.

It's not a Holyfield-esque situation where he's spent all his money on mansions and 500 illegitimate kids.

He'll have signed his house over to his wife/ girlfriend, transferred any assets elsewhere etc then declared bankruptcy.

That would of course be quite illegal. I'm sure a good lawyer will find ways round it but they'd have to be more subtle than that.

Thing with money is that you live within your means. As I've had pay rises over the years I've became more extravagant with my cash (nicer car, clothes etc), everyone does this so I can understand how someone earning a very good wage, whilst not being filthy rich, could let this happen to them. If you're not careful you can get caught out.

Nothing illegal about it.

Just hope they get paid in the right currency

Am not actually sure why your putting all the blame on Eddie for this Stringy?

I'd put more on his manager and the lawyers that told him everything was fine.

Coxy001 wrote:

Strongback wrote:Eddie said Ricky had nothing to worry about. When things went bad Barry said "We are promoters not lawyers".  I could think of a couple of other adjectives to describe that weaselly runt.

Think you'll find the real weasel in all of this is Warren.

Yeh, unless I'm mistaken, Eddie Hearn hasn't collapsed any promotional companies to escape contracts he entered into, or am I missing something? Also, Eddie Hearn didn't lose a legal case, Frank did. Frank screwed Ricky, who was stupid/naieve not to take independent legal advice.

Strongback wrote:

TopHat24/7 wrote:

Strongback wrote:Eddie said Ricky had nothing to worry about. When things went bad Barry said "We are promoters not lawyers".  I could think of a couple of other adjectives to describe that weaselly runt.

Great, this tedious BS again.



Take legal advice off someone who is not a lawyer and you only have yourself to blame......

Its a pity for Ricky he was so naive he didn't realise the lanky perma-tanned quiffed mockney with his arm around him was actually a slime ball.


I don't screw over people I do work with, its bad for business.

Burns terminated the agreement with Warren as others had done so and not had it all come to this, not Hearn. Christ strongy, give it a rest sunshine.

Derbymanc wrote:Just hope they get paid in the right currency

Am not actually sure why your putting all the blame on Eddie for this Stringy?

I'd put more on his manager and the lawyers that told him everything was fine.

You may want to re-read that sentence Derby, you've answered your own question (HINT: I've underlined the key).

I'm just wondering from an international businessmans point of view as to why it's Eddies fault ?(other than the Strongsters inherent dislike of someone being more successful of course)

Obviously i'm willing to wait until he manages to get a seat in that busy 1st class carriage of course