Hitz and Oquendo, who say a rematch agreement has not been honored, are set to file a lawsuit over a $1m payment that is said to be outstanding from the Cuban’s failed attempt at the world title.
Regarding the matter, Dugazaev has exclusively spoken to WBN to give his side of the story.
“Fres Oquendo signed a contract which was dated May 10th, 2014 to fight Ruslan Chagaev,” Dugazaev told World Boxing News on Thursday.
“I can say that this contract was surely not for the $1,000,000 claimed (which is a ridiculous demand to start with given Oquendo’s market value).
“Upon completion of the fight, the contract to Oquendo was fulfilled and he was paid in full. A rematch was not part of the contract.”
It was also stated that Oquendo was offered the extra $1m payment to guarantee that the fight went ahead as the fighter was experiencing family problems, but yet again this has been denied by Dugazaev who is adamant no offer existed.
“When Oquendo was supposed to come to Grozny he didn’t board the plane because of problems with his pregnant wife. We understood that, gave him some extra days and booked new flights. However, when he was supposed to come he didn’t board the plane again.
“We then told him that we would get in another opponent to replace him and asked him to confirm in writing that he is stepping back from his contract for medical reasons. He never did that and finally decided to fly over to fulfill his contract.
“Even though we had extra costs and massive public relations problems because he didn’t show up to the press conference and public workout as agreed, we didn’t charge him any money and didn’t keep any penalty payments (even though we could have according to the contract).
“Oquendo and his team have been treated with the utmost respect during their stay in Grozny and they even took pictures with President Ramzan Kadyrov to thank him for his hospitality. At no point he mentioned anything about extra payments.
“In addition to all that, we have been informed that Oquendo tested positive for banned substances and therefore disqualified himself from all demands.
“On the contrary and according to the bout contract, we have the right to demand the purse back from him – which we haven’t done so far because we didn’t want to hurt Oquendo and his family, although might do now to put an end to this insanity.”
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