By Kirk Jackson
After months of turbulence and in-house fighting within the company Golden Boy Promotions, between Chief Executive Richard Schaefer and Company President Oscar De La Hoya, Schaefer announced his resignation from the company this past Monday.
This is a huge blow to Golden Boy Promotions. Oscar of course, is the visual representation of the company. A company named and modeled after his fighting nickname, representing prestige and having the reputation of putting forth the best fights involving the best fighters.
Over the years, slowly but surely, we’ve witnessed the departure of prominent figures from the company. Marco Antonio Barrera, Shane Mosley and now Schaefer.
But one of the main guys making moves behind the scenes, essentially putting together major fights and handling the day to day business operations is Richard Schaefer. Equipped with knowledge and business savvy he gained from his experience as a Swiss Banker, Schaefer co-founded Golden Boy Promotions with Oscar in 2002 and was a key figure into developing Golden Boy into a business empire.
Schaefer is the guy you often see in the ring with Bernard Hopkins during a post fight interview. Hopkins refers to Schaefer as one of his best friends. You may see Schaefer ringside, talking to the likes of Shane Mosley, Floyd Mayweather and other big name, elite fighters of the sport.
He has a great rapport and reputation with many fighters and businessmen alike. He helped bridge the relationship between Golden Boy and Showtime last year, along with the relationship with Golden Boy and Fox Sports Net as well.
Schaefer helped put together some of the biggest fights and highest grossing events in recent memory. Think Oscar De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao vs. Oscar De La Hoya and later Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton, Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez. Huge fights.
And speaking of Floyd Mayweather, who has gone on record stating he dealt with Golden Boy Promotions, primarily because of his relationship with Richard Schaefer.
To make matters worse for Golden Boy Promotions, Mayweather who used Golden Boy to co-promote his events dropped the promotional company as soon as Schaefer announced his resignation. Ouch.
“We like working with Richard Schaefer. Richard Schafer is Golden Boy,” Mayweather said. “He’s a great guy, a great father. Richard knows the door is always open, Richard Schaefer knows he’s family.”
So we know Schaefer has a place go after his departure from Golden Boy, although with his strong connections and relationships, he may be best suited starting his own promotional company.
Another large ripple effect and option to ponder is what will boxing advisor Al Haymon do?
For those that don’t know, Haymon is a manager/advisor and works along side with Floyd Mayweather. Lets just say he has a lot of influence.
Haymon actually manages many of the high profile fighters in the sport. Paulie Malignaggi, Adrien Broner, Robert Guerrero, Peter Quillin, Marcos Maidana, Amir Khan, Adonis Stevenson and Danny Garcia, just to name a few.
Richard Schaefer was quoted as saying, “Al [Haymon] and me are friends. We work well together. We have done good business together. He’s a businessman I highly respect and regard.”
If we subtract Richard Schaefer, Floyd Mayweather, Al Haymon and his staple of fighters from Golden Boy Promotions, that could potentially cause enormous issues.
Of course there’s contracts, paperwork, various ties that connect these fighters to the company and we truly will not know what happens until the smoke settles. The potential for a huge loss in revenue is certainly there. Mayweather alone generates hundreds of millions of dollars.
But we do know Oscar is a fighter. Multiple division champion, Hall of Fame fighter at that. He’s been knocked down many times and tasted the canvas.
History shows as a professional inside in the ring and as a man who has struggled with personal public adversities, he always seems to get back up and face the challenge again. He will probably rise and do the same this time around.
He and Bob Arum are on speaking terms again. Who knows, maybe a merger lies in the future?
