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Mitch Abramson
May 11, 2016
Former Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer plans to return to the sport by the summer, likely as a promoter, he told ******.com on Wednesday afternoon. And while he was coy about the details of his return, Schaefer said he is eager to work with Floyd Mayweather Jr. again.
“I want to fulfill my vision for the sport,” Schaefer said in a phone interview. “And I was thinking, at one point, to maybe get involved in the management side of the sport. But I’m still most excited about the promotional side, and so it just excites me more, and I think there’s a void and a need.”
Mayweather also sees a vacuum that Schaefer can fill. The boxer-turned-promoter told FightHype.com last week he would like to work with Schaefer again. Before he resigned from Golden Boy in June of 2014 amid a public feud with principal owner Oscar De La Hoya, Schaefer promoted nine of Mayweather’s final 11 fights.
“As you heard from Floyd before, Floyd would like to work with me again and I would like to work with him again,” Schaefer told ******.com. “And so we are very close friends and we respect each other.”
A move to Mayweather Promotions would seem to be a natural fit for Schaefer – and for the company, which has been signing fighters recently in a bid to expand its roster. Mayweather has also been in talks with Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing about running joint, trans-Atlantic events. “If Richard joins Mayweather Promotions, it’s now a real promotional company,” said one industry source. “It makes perfect sense for him to go there.”
Schaefer was certainly complimentary of the job Mayweather has done making the transition from boxer to promoter. “I think Floyd is doing a terrific job with promoting and the fact is that the ‘Floyd Factor’ was a factor when he was fighting, breaking all records on the pay-per-view side,” Schaefer said. “But now you look at the ratings whenever a fight is promoted by Mayweather Promotions. The ratings, whether it’s on Showtime or other platforms – the ratings are always substantially higher. The fact is that Floyd is the personality and Floyd just draws attention and he was born to be a promoter.”
Perhaps sensing he was talking up Mayweather too much, Schaefer said,“I’m not saying that I’m going to be joining Mayweather Promotions. But I can definitely see us working together in some fashion.”
Mayweather would like the same. “Sometimes in life, you get certain chess pieces that you want and you know with certain chess pieces that you get, you’re not going to lose,” Mayweather told FightHype.com. “If you got Mayweather and (Al) Haymon and Richard Schaefer, that’s a win/win situation with us three working together.”
Schaefer resigned from in his role at Golden Boy in June of 2014 amid a very public falling out with De La Hoya. De La Hoya commenced litigation against Schaefer, claiming that Schaefer breached his fiduciary duties to the company. Schaefer and De La Hoya reached a settlement on the $50 million De La Hoya was seeking in arbitration in Jan. of 2015. Schaefer’s non-compete clause expired in Aug. of last year, freeing him to move on and return to the sport.
When he does come back, it won’t be in a perfunctory role, he said. “I’m working on a rather large project, which I think will be tremendous for the sport and with another group so I want to do things right,” said Schaefer, who plans to announce his next endeavor in a matter of weeks. “When I do announce that I’m coming back, it’s not just going to be ‘Richard Schaefer-this and Richard Schaefer-that.’ It’s going to be a major announcement.”
Schaefer didn’t seem so certain about his plans in Sept. of last year when he sat down with a pair of reporters at the MGM Grand, a day before Mayweather’s farewell fight with Andre Berto. There, Schaefer, a former banker, said he was thinking of opening a financial planning company for athletes and entertainers. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to work in boxing again, he said. But he’s had a change of heart since then, it seems.
“I’m a relationship guy,” Schaefer said on Wednesday. “As long as there’s a mutual respect – and, with Floyd, it’s exactly that and with many other people as well, whether it’s my friends from the MGM or AEG (the Anschutz Entertainment Group) or my friends at Showtime. All of those relationships are there and they’re not just going to go away. I don’t want to rush into something. I want to do things right. But, at the same time, I’m really excited (at) the direction that I’m going to take. So we’ll see in the coming month.”
http://goo.gl/fwm5S6
Boxing needs Schaefer
May 11, 2016
Former Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer plans to return to the sport by the summer, likely as a promoter, he told ******.com on Wednesday afternoon. And while he was coy about the details of his return, Schaefer said he is eager to work with Floyd Mayweather Jr. again.
“I want to fulfill my vision for the sport,” Schaefer said in a phone interview. “And I was thinking, at one point, to maybe get involved in the management side of the sport. But I’m still most excited about the promotional side, and so it just excites me more, and I think there’s a void and a need.”
Mayweather also sees a vacuum that Schaefer can fill. The boxer-turned-promoter told FightHype.com last week he would like to work with Schaefer again. Before he resigned from Golden Boy in June of 2014 amid a public feud with principal owner Oscar De La Hoya, Schaefer promoted nine of Mayweather’s final 11 fights.
“As you heard from Floyd before, Floyd would like to work with me again and I would like to work with him again,” Schaefer told ******.com. “And so we are very close friends and we respect each other.”
A move to Mayweather Promotions would seem to be a natural fit for Schaefer – and for the company, which has been signing fighters recently in a bid to expand its roster. Mayweather has also been in talks with Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing about running joint, trans-Atlantic events. “If Richard joins Mayweather Promotions, it’s now a real promotional company,” said one industry source. “It makes perfect sense for him to go there.”
Schaefer was certainly complimentary of the job Mayweather has done making the transition from boxer to promoter. “I think Floyd is doing a terrific job with promoting and the fact is that the ‘Floyd Factor’ was a factor when he was fighting, breaking all records on the pay-per-view side,” Schaefer said. “But now you look at the ratings whenever a fight is promoted by Mayweather Promotions. The ratings, whether it’s on Showtime or other platforms – the ratings are always substantially higher. The fact is that Floyd is the personality and Floyd just draws attention and he was born to be a promoter.”
Perhaps sensing he was talking up Mayweather too much, Schaefer said,“I’m not saying that I’m going to be joining Mayweather Promotions. But I can definitely see us working together in some fashion.”
Mayweather would like the same. “Sometimes in life, you get certain chess pieces that you want and you know with certain chess pieces that you get, you’re not going to lose,” Mayweather told FightHype.com. “If you got Mayweather and (Al) Haymon and Richard Schaefer, that’s a win/win situation with us three working together.”
Schaefer resigned from in his role at Golden Boy in June of 2014 amid a very public falling out with De La Hoya. De La Hoya commenced litigation against Schaefer, claiming that Schaefer breached his fiduciary duties to the company. Schaefer and De La Hoya reached a settlement on the $50 million De La Hoya was seeking in arbitration in Jan. of 2015. Schaefer’s non-compete clause expired in Aug. of last year, freeing him to move on and return to the sport.
When he does come back, it won’t be in a perfunctory role, he said. “I’m working on a rather large project, which I think will be tremendous for the sport and with another group so I want to do things right,” said Schaefer, who plans to announce his next endeavor in a matter of weeks. “When I do announce that I’m coming back, it’s not just going to be ‘Richard Schaefer-this and Richard Schaefer-that.’ It’s going to be a major announcement.”
Schaefer didn’t seem so certain about his plans in Sept. of last year when he sat down with a pair of reporters at the MGM Grand, a day before Mayweather’s farewell fight with Andre Berto. There, Schaefer, a former banker, said he was thinking of opening a financial planning company for athletes and entertainers. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to work in boxing again, he said. But he’s had a change of heart since then, it seems.
“I’m a relationship guy,” Schaefer said on Wednesday. “As long as there’s a mutual respect – and, with Floyd, it’s exactly that and with many other people as well, whether it’s my friends from the MGM or AEG (the Anschutz Entertainment Group) or my friends at Showtime. All of those relationships are there and they’re not just going to go away. I don’t want to rush into something. I want to do things right. But, at the same time, I’m really excited (at) the direction that I’m going to take. So we’ll see in the coming month.”
http://goo.gl/fwm5S6
Boxing needs Schaefer
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