A now retired boxer is suing JAY-Z, Roc Nation Sports and Live Nation for negligence, claiming he was forced to fight when he was not ready and suffered a near-fatal brain injury as a result.
According to The Blast, Daniel “Twitch” Franco, a 25-year-old prizefighter from Rancho Cucamonga, California, signed with Roc Nation Sports in 2015.
Prior to signing with Hov’s company, Franco boasted an undefeated record of 10-0-3. Afterward, he went on to win his first five fights after receiving their backing.
However, Franco claims problems arose when he contracted the flu and was not able to train properly for his fight against super lightweight Francisco Agustin Suarez, which took place on March 23, 2017. When he and his father told Roc Nation Sports they needed to cancel or postpone the fight, he alleges the company forced him to go forward with the bout.
He went on to lose by TKO.
He took on two more bouts in 2017, one on Friday, (May 12) and the final on Saturday, (June 12) which ended up being his last professional fight ever. He claims he was recovering from two skull fractures and a brain bleed going into the event in June and also asserts he had not received medical clearance before entering the ring.
Franco lost in the eighth round after being knocked out by Jose Haro, which he claims caused him to suffer “a devastating brain hemorrhage.”
The brutal knockout sent him into a coma and prompted for a surgery to remove a portion of his skull. As a result of his injuires, he now has been confined to wearing protective headgear.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd3L6XoR7oE
Franco is now personally suing, seeking unspecified damages, declaring Roc Nation Sports should have known he was not ready to fight. He also told the celebrity news outlet in a video that JAY-Z’s company instructed him to take down a GoFund me page his family set up for donations to cover medical bills, saying Roc Nation Sports told him they, “would figure it out.”
“They told me to take my post down, which was about Roc Nation, about fighting at Roc Nation, and they called me, they actually reached out, it was the first time I heard from them, and they said, ‘hey, you know, take your post down and we’ll call you within 72 hours and everything will be fine, you know just take it down right now and we’ll call you back,” Franco explains in part.
“They just never called us. They had me take my post down, and so, I put my post back up, and that’s how it has been with Roc Nation. They haven’t been true to their word and they haven’t been great people, they left me out to dry and I have over $200,000 dollars in medical bills.”
No official statement from Roc Nation Sports on the matter has been made available to date.
Watch the full interview with Franco below.
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Thats what you get when you hire a dumb fucker who is a “RAPPER” you hire a damn actual sports manager
Yeah, although you’re right & common sense isn’t too common, I still feel sorry for him. If he wasn’t ready to fight, and he expressed this and was told to fight anyway… this is a terrible look for Roc Nation Sports.
Yea sad world we live in when people who think some guy whos rich and famous watches sports in his freetime and it suddenly qualifies him as a athletic manager dont follow influencers thats all they are
ABSOLUTELY ?. HE NEEDS A GOOD LAWYER. SUCH A YOUNG MAN TO BE GOING THROUGH THIS. WISH I HAD 200 GRAND. I HATE WHEN THESE RAPPER KIND OF WISHY WASHY PLAY ON YOUNG KIDS. IF HE WAS AFRICAN AMERICAN JAY WOULD HAVE PAID DOUBLE AND TRIPLE CHECKS FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT!!
You ain’t neva lied
It’s not about race idiot. That’s what rich people do. They screw people over. At least 98% of them. You want me to name blacks Jay screwed over? People that helped him from the start? And not just Hov. It’s just rich people in general. Think deep. Don’t be shallow minded.
she’s right, he would have…roc nation need to address this..this is some BS…watch the video!
lol.
Djf knows nothin about hip hop. Bro your comments are irrelevant
I agree with the dudes below. Boxers should sign with people who have actual experience in this field and some guy who’s trying his luck with this shit
The lawsuit will settle whatever differences, but if u didnt want to fight..THEN DONT FIGHT.. WTF???! this is not basket weaving, checkers or gardening… its the fucking FIGHT game.. sounds like he saw a bag and put money b4 common sense…it got the better of him
Shit happens.. hope he gets btter
same to you you dumb fvck, watch the video…they can cover his bills and help him out!
Jay needs to have his ass ra.ped for doing this to him
I bet you were beating your meat while you typed that.
Y’all really think jay even knew who dude was or is .. he doesn’t run roc nation sports .. he’d be better off hollering at Shawn Pecas .. unfortunate situation but this shit happens all the time in boxing ..
can’t blame jay-z for this
Boo hoo.
Unfortunately, as a boxer, you’re always risking these kinds of life changing injuries.
He lasted until the eighth round – why didn’t he throw the towel in before then if he was struggling? It’s not as if Roc Nation control him inside the ring.
He’s a stupid nobody who saw the dollar signs when Roc Nation came in, and is now making out that the world owes him a favour.
Should of stayed in school and got the grades that would of meant he wasn’t resorting to being punched in the face for a living.
Zero sympathy.
watch the video you dumb fvck
Lol nobody asked you for your sympathy, the man is seeking justice through the law, not sympathy of some internet know it all
He’s the wrong skin color to get any help from Jigga. He needs to be a black felon violating his conditions of release to get anything from Jigga, like Meek…
You sign a contract. It’s all in the contract. Blacc and white! Stop it. ??