Gates
Unpaid after Debut He risked his life entering the ring. He won with a mandatory stoppage after knocking Indiana’s Patrick Walker to the canvas three times in just 59 seconds. He was happy. It was a successful professional debut. But, then, he was not paid. Eddie Gates fought on Friday at DeCarlo’s Banquet and Convention Center in Warren. His opponent was not the best boxer in the world, having fought and lost by knockout twice previously, but not a bad opponent for Gates’ first foray into the ring as a paid professional. But, then again, Gates was not paid for the fight. Jim Westmoreland, who was the matchmaker for Friday’s fights, intervened when a woman named Mary was handing out pay to boxers after their fights and he refused to pay Gates, according to the 30-year old Romulus boxer. Gates claims that Westmoreland was upset at how quickly he defeated his Kokomo, Indiana opponent saying he should have “carried him” longer, apparently to make the fight look like a better match. He also told Sportssummary that Westmoreland called him on Sunday and offered to arrange another win for him with what Westmoreland called “another bum.” Westmoreland is not licensed to match fights, or perform in any other boxing capacity in Michigan, according to records of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth (DELEG), which oversees boxing. Gates reported that he attempted to speak with promoter and attorney John Carlisle after being refused payment but Carlisle refused to talk to him. The elusive Carlisle, who promoted the fights under the name Four Corner Productions – one of two promotional companies he has registered with state officials – is ultimately responsible for how his event is handled and failure to pay Gates is on him. So should the fact that he used an unlicensed matchmaker for his show. Gates filed an official complaint with state officials and DELEG’s Linda Douglas confirmed the department had received it Thursday. Westmoreland
did not return calls and staffers at Carlisle's law office reported
that both he and Mary were out of the office until next week. The
two female staffers were unaware, they said, that any boxer had
not been paid. |