By Kamel Messani

Mustapha Ouicher, trainer of top rated middleweight contender Hassan N'Dam, has verbally erupted over the financial terms for the upcoming fight with David Lemieux for the vacant IBF middleweight crown. The fight takes place on June 20th from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. Fox Sports 2 will televise the contest.

Ouicher is angry over the low compensation that N'Dam is receiving for the contest and wants some answers regarding what took place at the official purse bid and how the promoters divided up all of the money. He also had words for Lemieux's manager, Camille Estephan.  

"Team Lemieux tried to evade the issue, but that won't happen. How do you explain that the only purse bid for the organization of such a big event is $102,000 is made by Golden Boy, while our promoter is a billionaire? If that's not called a scam, I will let the boxing fans have their own personal opinion about it," Ouicher told BoxingScene.com.

"How can you explain such a low funding when the fight takes place at the Bell Centre against Hassan N'dam and when they are certain of filling the whole place, and with  the lowest ticket price being $70 dollars? Knowing the capacity of Bell Centre, I will let you make the calculation. Not even counting broadcasting rights and sponsoring, profits are at least $3 million dollars. And nothing was done for the fight itself, the organizers will just look at the boxers getting punched while drinking champagne, thinking they gave the title to their boxer practically for free.

"They say they offered Hassan $300,000 but that was gross - with 30% for the promoter, 30% for tax, managers etc... there isn't much left for the boxer. Hassan asked for $300,000 net, but they didn't like that so they schemed together and here we are with this ridiculous purse. They are making money to the detriment of Hassan and they were forcing him to refuse to fight so that Lemieux could get the title for free.

"Lemieux who is ranked below Hassan will make more than one million dollars. That is outrageous. Golden Boy thinks everything is permitted. They robbed us with the Quilin fight, a rematch was written in the contract and it never happened. Now we get ripped off with this purse of shame. But I have faith in God, if the justice of men is blind, God is great. They will see later on, so will everyone who collaborated with them and took all the money which was due to the boxer. We will take this belt and this will be our first revenge. We are enraged."

"When Camille talks about Kendall and Peterson for $12,500, that's degrading and shameful, that's not a reference. Better to sweep the streets for this price rather than give easy money to the promoters. And that's called professional boxing, where the boxer is supposed to make a living off his fights, that's the money given to world rank boxers, to become a tramp and homeless.

"Whatever the issue of the fight, Saturday night's boxing event at the Bell Centre in Montréal will be remembered in boxing as a shameful event with a purse of shame.

Everything was done to favor Lemieux over N'Dam. Not to make the fight a big boxing event, but only to make sure Hassan would refuse to fight so that Lemieux could get the world title without a fight. Have you ever seen of a former world champion who would box the challenger at home for the ridiculous gross price of $51,000? Nobody would accept this, except maybe for a fake fight against an easy opponent.

"On top of that, the referee of this fight is Canadian, as well as one of the judges. That's shocking, in a fight for a world title the referee has to be neutral. Knowing all of this, how would you like Hassan to prepare for the fight with equanimity? Still we won't get discouraged. Despite all of this that has happened outside the ring, Hassan will fight and come back with the title. Our victory will be even greater and your defeat even worse."

"I heard Camille stated that Hassan is underestimating Lemieux. That is not true and that's not our state of mind. We take every opponent seriously. We do not underestimate them but in the same way we have no reason to overestimate them. Then he referenced the Quilin fight, that's his right. But on this precise day Hassan was taking medication, which was given by prescription. Why not mention Curtis, Bursak, Lorenzo, etc...? He should focus on the Rubio fight [with Lemieux], because that's revealing. Now the truth will be seen in the ring next Saturday. But I won't take my words back, shame on the organizers of this event, which will forever stay a black day in the history of boxing."