by Chris Carlson
Golden Boy Promotions C.E.O. Richard Schafer and often talked about but rarely seen uber advisor Al Haymon, worked long hours trying to hash out a deal for the Super Fight between Floyd Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez that will be broadcasted on Showtime PPV September 14. The 11 city press tour that kicks off in New York City on June 24 was recently announced and the price points for the tickets should be figured out very soon.
Add in the fact that their Chief operating officer David Itskowitch, who has been with the company for the last 6 years is now leaving, and you can understand why they haven’t been able to work on the highly anticipated Danny Garcia vs. Lucas Matthysse matchup that hardcore fans have been begging for or anything other main event and undercard fights that there planning for in late August and September.
Early this week Schafer spoke with Dan Rafael of Espn.com and said “That’s what I’m working on this week,” also adding “I’d like to have the August and September schedules all done by the end of the week. I need to sit down with Al though and figure everything out.”
Every since Lucas “The Machine” Matthysse throttled Lamont Peterson when the two exchanged left hooks, the hot topic for boxing fans in the forums and on social media has been whether or not Danny Garcia and Al Haymon will want that Matthysse fight. Many in the boxing world think neither will want to risk his undefeated record and a chance to score a future PPV fight with Floyd Mayweather. Keyboard warriors that are in Matthysse’s corner or dislike Angel Garcia have been going after Danny Garcia supporter’s throats.
Schafer sent a message to those fans with calming words that were quoted by Rafael “Al realizes that having all these fighter’s means they will sometimes have to fight each other,” adding “Danny Garcia has never turned down anybody. And Matthysse? This is the fight he’s been waiting for.”
The site and money is all that seems to be left for that fight and if Danny wants a date with destiny (Mayweather) this is the type of fight that will raise his profile. It’s not just that fight thought, which brings us to a number of fights or names that have to be filled in to the Golden Boy/Showtime schedule. The co-feature on the September 7 card was mentioned by Schafer to be Lamont Peterson vs. Zab Judah, which makes sense if they still plan to put that card in D.C. August 24th or August 31st dates are being narrowed down for a Showtime card.
Victor Ortiz’s return from a broken jaw by the hands of Josesito Lopez and a nice run on the ABC show “Dancing with the Stars” had been rumored to be against Robert Guerrero but now Shane Mosley’s name has been thrown into the mix, after Mosley earned a tough win in Mexico versus Pablo Cesar Cano on May 18.
Another interesting fight that needs to be scheduled after Golden Boy won the purse bid is a junior featherweight title fight between the Champion Victor Terrazas and the mandatory challenger Leo Santa Cruz, which could land on the Mayweather-Alvarez PPV undercard.
Abner Mares is on track to make the first defense of his featherweight belt that he won by scoring a TKO victory over then champion Ponce De Leon in May. There are talks of either Mares and/or Santa Cruz fighting on a card in Mexico or both landing on Mexican Independence Weekend PPV undercard.
And last but certainly not least, the return of Miguel Cotto has been tentatively scheduled for September 28th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Erislandy Lara who is fresh off his back and forth battle with Alfredo Angulo, Erislandy Lara has thrown his hat in the ring to secure a fight with Cotto. Although the Cuban presents a difficult style for Miguel Cotto , who has faced two tough style matchups in a row in his fights with Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout, Lara has been inconsistent and may have shown just enough weakness by getting knockdown twice in a win versus Angulo, something that hadn’t happen even once in his pro career.
Fight fans have to wait but from the sounds of it, the Showtime/Golden Boy late summer and early fall schedule should be figured out very soon.
