By Miguel Rivera
After some ups and downs in the last few years, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya feels strongly that his brand is back on top as the premier promotional company in boxing.
On September 16th, Golden Boy will be the lead promoter for the biggest boxing event of the year when Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (49-1-1, 34 KOs) challenges IBF, IBO, WBA, WBC middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin (37-0, 33 KOs). The venue has yet to be determined.
As the promoter for arguably the biggest star in boxing, at least in the United States, Golden Boy is standing in a very strong position. Canelo, at only 26 years-old, could be around for a very long time.
Because of the tremendous demand to see the fight take place, Canelo vs. Golovkin is a fight that sells itself. That won't stop De La Hoya from putting together a huge promotional campaign to push the event.
"Obviously, nothing is easy, and we must use our intelligence, the promotional machinery, the team work of the company, to launch an advertising campaign all over the world," De La Hoya told ESPN Deportes.
De La Hoya's company has been involved in the majority of the largest pay-per-view events in the last decade - including De La Hoya's fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr., Canelo vs. Mayweather, Canelo vs. Mayweather, Canelo vs. Miguel Cotto and most of Mayweather's pay-per-view events in that time period. Golden Boy's pay-per-view from last Saturday, which saw Canelo dominate Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. in a one-sided fight, reportedly generated at least a million buys.
De La Hoya says the Canelo-Golovkin event will showcase exactly why his company holds the top promotional spot.
"Without a doubt, we are the best in the world, we know what we are doing, we have the experience, we have machinery that allows us to promote any fight and make it big. We are the best company. Team work is something that we have been demonstrating for a long time, for several years and we will continue down this road for a long time," De la Hoya concluded.