Mitchell Rose, a former heavyweight boxer, has filed an $88 million lawsuit against Jay-Z for copyright infringement.

According to reports, Rose said that he gave Jay his demo tape in 2001 after the Willian Joppy and Felix Trinidad fight. "I saw Jay-Z as we were leaving the arena after the fight, gave him my tape, and asked him to listen to it," said Rose to Eastsideboxing.com.

A short time later, Rose said Jay stole his style as he heard him "whispering" on his tracks in the same fashion showcased in the demo. In an attempt to seek justice for himself, the former boxer (who also doubles as an author and personal injury attorney) is trying to take Jay to court.

"He took the demo with him and began using the whispering (which he now frequents) in his songs. I had previously trained some of my artists to use that style, but it quickly became obsolete after Jay-Z got a hold of it," Rose continued. "He used the whispering to enhance his music and financially benefit from it. Jay-Z disregarded the fact that it was my demo where he got the style from as he went on to use it for his own personal gains, which is wrong."

Rose said that he has served legal documents to two of Jay's 40/40 clubs but has yet to have direct contact with the Brooklyn born rapper.

There has been no word from Jay or his representatives regarding the lawsuit.

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