WBC upholds Stevenson-Gvozdyk purse bid

After looking into the situation surrounding the purse bid for Adonis Stevenson vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk, which was won by promoter Yvon Michel after TGB Promotions pulled it’s winning bid, the WBC has decided to let Michel’s winning bid stand.

Top Rank had accused Michel and TGB of colluding together in order to win the rights to the fight for the lowest purse possible, but Michel denied that he participated in any such scheme. Ultimately the WBC decided it would allow Michel’s bid to stand but said they planned to impose some sort of punishment on TGB promotions for pulling their winning bid, but the particulars on that front have not been announced.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum backed the WBC’s decision, telling ESPN:

“We lobbied for that result because I think that was the only fair thing,” Arum said. “Carl believed Yvon was taken by surprise by the other bid and Yvon outbid us, so he’s entitled to do the fight.

“My view of the ruling is, I support it completely and I advocated for it. But I would like the WBC to tighten up the rules to the extent that they exact a punishment from somebody like Haymon or Brown who did what they did — to put a bid in and then immediately withdraw it. I realize you can’t make the penalty retroactive but certainly going forward they can do something to prevent this from happening.”

With Michel as the confirmed purse bid winner, he plans to hold Stevenson-Gvozdyk on November 3 in Quebec City.