Hopkins gives his take on the Golden Divorce

[Hougigo]

http://www.thesweetscience.com/news/...-boy-situation

Also makes it clear he's not in contract with GBP.

[IMDAZED]

Just finished reading this. And the hits just keep on coming.

[IMDAZED]

Two quotes are telling:

It’s crucial for me to make the right move, whether it’s with Richard or with Oscar. I worked too hard to get here to do anything else

.

“I don’t have a contract with Al Haymon, but I wouldn’t mind having one because he knows the business and he knows how to make the moves to get you where you need to be.”

[Hougigo]

Two quotes are telling:

.

Pretty obvious he's going that way... especially with Stevenson being with Haymon

[jas]

He said he will go to whichever side benefits him the most. That's honest. He even said he might not use either Oscar or Schaefer for his next fight

***8203;***8220;I***8217;m not under contract to Golden Boy,***8221; stressed Hopkins, who added that he has spoken recently to both De La Hoya and Schaefer. ***8220;No one has asked me to come here or to stay there. I got my own team, a separate team. When all is said and done, I***8217;m going to evaluate everything and decide to do what***8217;s best for Bernard Hopkins. I***8217;m going to try to be fair to everybody, but I got to look out for me first. It***8217;s crucial for me to make the right move, whether it***8217;s with Richard or with Oscar. I worked too hard to get here to do anything else.
***8203;***8220;No matter what, though, what***8217;s going on now between them won***8217;t affect me from getting in the ring and winning another title. I want to continue to unify the light heavyweight division, and with two titles I***8217;m in better position to do that now, regardless of the shakeup. I could even promote my next fight myself. It won***8217;t be an emotional decision. I***8217;m going to align myself with the best, with the smartest, and with whoever can do the most for me at this stage of my career.***8221;

[Dr Rumack]

He said he will go to whichever side benefits him the most. That's honest. He even said he might not use either Oscar or Schaefer for his next fight

We all knew that anyway. Hopkins isn't exactly known for his loyalty.

[soul_survivor]

Hops been in the sport long enough, he should promote himself.

[ИATAS]

Also very significant:

***8203;Although it is widely presumed that Schaefer, a Swiss-born banker who had no background in boxing until he became De La Hoya’s business manager and then GBP’s CEO, will now partner up with Mayweather, Haymon and Ellerbee, there are legal issues that must be ironed out. For one thing, Schaefer – who signed a contract extension with GBP in April 2012 that Hopkins said “runs until, I think, 2017 or 2018” – remains a shareholder in the company, which could make it difficult for him to join Mayweather Promotions or some other promotional entity until the expiration of that arrangement. In a prepared statement, Schaefer indicated that he will “look forward to the next opportunity,” and that he hopes that opportunity is in boxing, but he also noted that he also is “proud to remain a shareholder, so I have a strong interest in the continued success of the company.”

[Chiboxing123]

He didn't thrash either side. Stevenson is with Haymon and that's the fight he wants so why not. More interested in where maidana,Lucas,Thurman,Garcia,Santa Cruz,the ghost,porter,broner,and kid chocolate go from here than b hop

[IMDAZED]

Also very significant:

***8203;Although it is widely presumed that Schaefer, a Swiss-born banker who had no background in boxing until he became De La Hoya’s business manager and then GBP’s CEO, will now partner up with Mayweather, Haymon and Ellerbee, there are legal issues that must be ironed out. For one thing, Schaefer – who signed a contract extension with GBP in April 2012 that Hopkins said “runs until, I think, 2017 or 2018” – remains a shareholder in the company, which could make it difficult for him to join Mayweather Promotions or some other promotional entity until the expiration of that arrangement. In a prepared statement, Schaefer indicated that he will “look forward to the next opportunity,” and that he hopes that opportunity is in boxing, but he also noted that he also is “proud to remain a shareholder, so I have a strong interest in the continued success of the company.”

The only thing really important is the non-compete clause and there definitely should be one. That said, those things usually run for about a year (not long in the big scheme of things) or when the business that the prior CEO was handling is complete/over.

Also, unless GBP has some bylaws stating otherwise (and it's possible since they're a private firm), there is nothing that can stop Schaefer from starting his own company while holding shares of GBP. Now if he was to join another promotional company, they may (I repeat, may) ask him to sell his GBP shares simply because they don't want him to have a reason to see their rival do well.