Golden Boy, Richard Schaefer settle; GBP parts way with most Al Haymon fighters
Golden Boy Promotions settled its lawsuit with former CEO Richard Schaefer on Friday and surrendered its promotional rights to a number of top boxers who are signed with powerful manager/adviser Al Haymon, a source familiar with the deal told Yahoo Sports.
Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya wanted to be able to put on the best possible fights, the source said, but felt hamstrung by having to get Haymon's approval each time he wanted to make a match. Golden Boy will retain the promotional rights to Haymon-advised fighters such as Amir Khan, Lucas Matthysse and Leo Santa Cruz. Golden Boy also has a deal independent of Haymon with Canelo Alvarez, one of the biggest stars in the sport.
However, there will be a serious talent drain, with fighters like welterweight Adrien Broner and Danny Garcia, who had been Golden Boy staples the past several years, remaining with Haymon.
Haymon is not a promoter, but he's purchased time on NBC and is planning to start a boxing series on the network later this year. The fights he has will primarily be on NBC Sports Network, with a few of them on the broadcast network NBC itself.
Schaefer had been the first and only CEO in Golden Boy history from its founding until leaving the company in June. De La Hoya wanted control of his company back from Schaefer and disagreed with the way Schaefer had been running it.
De La Hoya won the power struggle and forced Schaefer out, and the sides sued each other. The settlement of the lawsuits bars Schaefer from promoting for a period of time, but the source was not sure how long that period would be.
De La Hoya could not be reached for comment. Schaefer said that on the advice of his attorney, he would not speak about his future at this time. Haymon does not speak to the media.
The move would seem to open the door for Schaefer to join Mayweather Promotions. Golden Boy promoted many Floyd Mayweather Jr. fights over the past seven years and Mayweather and Schaefer became close. Schaefer also developed a very close working relationshp with Haymon.
Last year, Mayweather publicly said he was dissatisfied with his CEO, Leonard Ellerbe, and there was speculation Ellerbe would be forced out.
Ellerbe has had nearly zero media visibility since Mayweather talked about their issues in September to a boxing website. He did appear next to Mayweather at a Nevada Athletic Commission hearing and promoted the Ishe Smith-Erislandy Lara fight card in Texas last month. Ellerbe did not return a call Friday seeking comment.
"Everyone is excited that we've gotten this over and that we can get back to making fights the fans want to see," the source told Yahoo Sports.
Schaefer developed Golden Boy into a powerhouse. At the beginning of 2014, it had arguably the strongest, deepest roster of any promotional company.
While a company which boasts Alvarez will remain a major player, its roster is much thinner now.
"We have a lot of young fighters Oscar likes who he thinks can become Golden Boy's next generation of stars," the source said. "It was just so tough getting fights made under the system we were in. With this deal, we can now make the fights the fans want to see, and when these young fighters develop, we'll be back where we were."
