Neil Marsh has exclusively revealed that he has won a high court judgement against Russian fight figure, Albert Khachaturov (also known as Al Siesta).
Marsh began proceedings in 2017 due to his displeasure at Khachaturov’s behaviour around a fighter under his control, former WBA welterweight champion, David Avanesyan.
“This is the first time in my life I have sued anybody but I had grown tired with having my integrity questioned by people who had been given an inaccurate version of events by Khachaturov (Siesta),” Marsh told BoxingScene. “The court found in my favour back in July 2017 but, due to the never ending string of lies and personal insults I am still being subjected to, I have decided that it is time the truth came out. In particular, the fact that Khachaturov has questioned my financial integrity - when all I have ever done is protect David to the best of my ability - hurt me. I never like to carry out my business in public but it is time I spoke.”
Marsh took Khachaturov to the high court in Manchester and successfully won a high court judgement for wasted management time and unlawful contractual interference.
Khachaturov - who had been acting as an advisor to the Armenian and has recently been fulfilling a similar role with WBC cruiserweight champion, Marius Breidis - was order to pay Marsh over ÂŁ15,000.
Marsh initially signed Avenysan in 2015, pairing him with Nottingham based trainer Carl Greaves. The team have enjoyed a successful relationship. After matching Avanesyan with gutsy Irish fighter Dean Byrne, Marsh guided him to the interim WBA world welterweight title when he stopped Charlie Navarro in Monte Carlo in November 2015.
Following the victory, Marsh provided his fighter with serious financial backing, flying himself and Avanesyan out to Panama in December 2015 to watch Shane Mosley in action at the annual WBA convention. After some complicated negotiations, a bout with Mosley was agreed and Marsh once again invested heavily in his fighter, pouring a substantial five figure sum into giving Avanesyan the best possible opportunity to win the fight. Carson Jones was flown in from America to act as chief sparring partner and a high powered American lawyer, Leon Margules, was hired to look after Avanesyan’s legal interests in the USA. Marsh also arranged for his own doctors to be on hand and arranged for a security team and drivers to be on hand in Arizona before the fight.
After the Mosley fight, Khachaturov and Avanesyan’s relationship ended. Avanesyan’s interim title was upgraded to the full version of the WBA world title, a belt he subsequently lost via unanimous decision to Lamont Peterson in February 2017.
“The Mosley fight provided David with a small purse but a massive prize,” Marsh said. “I didn’t take a penny from the Mosley fight - in fact I lost a five figure sum - and by questioning my integrity at every turn and in every way possible, Khachaturov tried to destroy my relationship with David for his own gain. During fight week ahead of the Shane Mosley fight in May 2016, Avanesyan was presented with the true facts and realised that I had done nothing but treat him like a son.”
On February 16th, Avanesyan is slated to take on unbeaten Lithuanian knockout artist Egidijus Kavaliauskas on the undercard of Ray Beltran’s WBO lightweight title fight with Paulus Moses in Reno. Should he win, his team hope that a path to a showdown with the brilliant Terence Crawford may open up.
