Arum Files Lawsuit Against De La Hoya

Two months after a federal judge ruled that Bob Arum’s contract with former welterweight champion Oscar De La Hoya was null and void, the promoter struck back Tuesday.

Four days before De La Hoya’s ring return under a new promoter, Arum asked for $25 million in damages in a lawsuit filed against De La Hoya and Time Warner in a New York federal court.

At issue is a three-party contract among Arum, Time Warner and the fighter. That contract is currently in limbo in the same court, awaiting a judge’s ruling on a request by HBO, a Time Warner company, for a declaratory judgment on the validity of the contract. That request was made after De La Hoya, with Jerry Perenchio now serving as his promoter, refused to pledge to honor the contract, which calls for four more fights on HBO.

Meantime, HBO and De La Hoya struck a deal to allow the former champion’s Saturday fight against Arturo Gatti in Las Vegas to be shown on the cable network.

Under the terms of the original contract, De La Hoya was to receive $4.5 million from HBO for Saturday’s fight, with Arum getting an amount that has not been revealed.

Under the revised terms, De La Hoya has agreed to take an estimated $3.5 million, but, Arum said, he won’t receive any money.

A spokesman for De La Hoya declined comment. Spokesmen for HBO were unavailable.

“We don’t expect this to have any effect on Saturday night’s fight,” said Bill Caplan, an Arum spokesman.