Dan Rafael With A Good Blog On Whats Next & Who Controls Who Between Haymon & GBP

Da_Machine12y ago

http://espn.go.com/blog/dan-rafael/post/_/id/9289/whats-next-for-gbp-schaefer When Richard Schaefer resigned as chief executive of Golden Boy Promotions on Monday, it merely answered one of the many questions about the situation -- namely, would he leave the company? The answer was yes, as the long-rumored split between him and company president, co-founder and majority shareholder Oscar De La Hoya came to fruition after months of infighting. But now what? I don’t have all the answers, but I will try my best to answer some of the key questions. What does this mean for Golden Boy/De La Hoya? It means Golden Boy has lost the only CEO it has ever known, as well as pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr., who has worked with Golden Boy on a fight-by-fight basis since 2007. After Schaefer announced his resignation, Mayweather followed him out the door, saying he would not longer have Golden Boy co-promote his events. That’s a huge financial hit to Golden Boy. But De La Hoya brought Schaefer into his business and surely will find somebody else to run the company. Can that person be as successful in fostering relationships with networks, venues, sponsors, managers, fighters and media as Schafer, who presided over the two richest pay-per-view events and two richest gates in boxing history? We’ll see. ESPN.com Boxing on Twitter Don't miss any of the latest boxing coverage from around the world. Follow us on Twitter and stay informed. Join » Golden Boy still has its output deal with Fox Sports 1 and several quality fighters under contract. With Schaefer out of the picture, the way is clear for De La Hoya and Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, his former promoter turned rival, to do business again in the wake of their recent reconciliation. What does this mean for Schaefer? Schaefer is a smart, hard-working, relentless businessman. He’ll be just fine. But will he start his own company? Will he go to work for Mayweather Promotions? Will he promote the many Al Haymon-advised fighters he used to promote at Golden Boy but who were not under formal Golden Boy promotional agreements? That was one of the issues that came between Schaefer and De La Hoya. The answers are unknown. There’s also the question of Schaefer’s contractual status with Golden Boy. Schaefer resigned but remains a shareholder, and De La Hoya’s attorney claims that Schaefer is under contract through March 2018. This could get messy. Even if a settlement is reached on the supposed signed employment agreement, what about a non-compete clause that would prevent Schaefer from promoting for a certain length of time? Those are hard to enforce in California, where Golden Boy operates. All of this is where the lawyers get involved. Schaefer has been mum on his plans, but you can count on one thing: He will promote boxing in the future and probably be successful. Is Golden Boy going to work with Arum now that Schaefer is out of the way? The short answer is definitely. De La Hoya and Arum recently reconciled after many fierce battles between their companies. One of the issues between De La Hoya and Schaefer was De La Hoya’s desire to work with Arum again, and Schaefer’s refusal. With Schaefer gone, it’s only a matter of time until they promote fights together. The question, however, is: If the companies work together, what kind of fights can they make? It is unclear because nobody knows for sure which fighters Golden Boy has under contract and which fighters are strictly with Haymon. If Golden Boy has many of Haymon’s top welterweights under contract, it could open a good selection of opponents to face Manny Pacquiao, Timothy Bradley Jr. and Juan Manuel Marquez. That brings us to the next question. What does this mean for the fighters with Haymon who fight regularly on Golden Boy cards but are not under contract to the company? Haymon could continue working with Golden Boy and leave things status quo. Or, as many expect, he could gut the company and steer them to some other company, namely Mayweather Promotions or perhaps an entity Schaefer may found. Besides star client Mayweather, Haymon has numerous name fighters in his vast stable. Among those who are associated with Golden Boy: Danny Garcia, Marcos Maidana, Adrien Broner, Lucas Matthysse, Amir Khan, Deontay Wilder, Peter Quillin, Shawn Porter, Keith Thurman, Erislandy Lara, Devon Alexander, Gary Russell Jr., Paulie Malignaggi, Sakio Bika, Robert Guerrero, Lamont Peterson, Daniel Jacobs, Andre Berto, Victor Ortiz, Jermell Charlo, Jermall Charlo and Luis Collazo, not to mention 2012 U.S. Olympians Errol Spence Jr. and Marcus Browne, two top prospects. It is not clear which of those fighters are under contract to Golden, Boy but it is believed that Khan, Guerrero and Alexander are (although my understanding is that Alexander’s June 21 fight is the final fight of his deal). Some fighters are known to not be under contract, including Porter, Thurman, Russell, Berto, Peterson and the Olympians. Does this have any impact on the possibility of Mayweather-Pacquiao? None. Mayweather remains under contract to Showtime and is with Haymon. Mayweather has also repeatedly said he would not do business with Arum, who recently re-signed Pacquiao to a two-year contract extension. From what I am told, Arum got financial help from HBO in closing the Pacquiao deal and then pledged loyalty to HBO on Pacquiao fights. They’ll keep fighting on different networks, and the same problems remain as far as how to split the money and various other issues. Bottom line: Still no fight. Is a Pacquiao-Canelo Alvarez fight now possible? Technically, yes, since it would mean matching a Top Rank fighter with a Golden Boy fighter who is not with Haymon. However, realistically, it is unlikely. Alvarez is on the verge of moving up to middleweight, and Pacquiao, a small welterweight, has talked about moving down to junior welterweight. Besides, after Pacquiao’s tough fight a few years ago with junior middleweight Antonio Margarito, Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach said he would never fight that big of an opponent again. Even if they wanted to make the fight, it is unclear whether HBO has rights to Pacquiao (I believe it does) and whether Showtime has rights to Alvarez (I’m not sure beyond his July 19 fight). Are any already-scheduled fights going to be canceled now? No. Where do Showtime and HBO stand in all of this? Showtime has been the de facto home for Golden Boy’s major fights for the past couple of years, and Showtime Sports boss Stephen Espinoza is close to De La Hoya and Schaefer -- he used to be Golden Boy’s attorney. So he could continue doing Golden Boy fights if they have the fighters who are ready for prime time. He could also keep working with the Haymon fighters and put on cards involving both factions. As for HBO, it banned Golden Boy fighters -- and by extension Haymon fighters -- in early 2013 for various reasons. But HBO is also the main outlet for Top Rank’s major fights, and now that Top Rank and Golden Boy likely will work together again I expect Golden Boy fighters will be back on HBO soon. Haymon’s fighters? That’s another story. I don’t see them being welcome on HBO at this point.

Comments (20)

LHK

spoken like a true floyd fan...... I am a Floyd fan. I am also a Manny fan, and was a big fan of Oscar growing up. None of this changes how poorly Oscar has handled everything here.

11y ago

bigsmoothh

This is all on Oscar. He couldn't keep his life together or his business. It is not like he made it hard for Haymon and Schaefer to do this. And lets be real for a moment, GBP didn't matter without Schaefer and Haymon. So really, I can't feel bad for Oscar on this one. spoken like a true floyd fan......

11y ago

LHK

11y ago

The_Gambler1981

These are admirable ideas but they are a bit too pie-in-the-sky and need a dose of reality. 1. The chance of fighters banding together and snatching leverage from promoters is about 0%. At the end of the day someone has to foot the bill and put on a show. Fighters have enough to worry about that is why they have managers and promoters in the first place and that is why they will never dictate the economy of the sport just like every other athlete in every other sport. 2. Boxing has problems but you are overstating its brokenness. The basic system of promoters building up fighters has always, ans still is, in tact. Barring some sort of organized league, its essential. This is how Canelo, Pac, Cotto, and even oscar and floyd became names. Tertiary circumstances like the cold war and network house fighters hinder this system but it's still what drives the sport. 3. "Fighters would fight for the guy who bids the most, that is not a broken system they just have to make money when the guy fights for them." This is another pie-in-the-sky view. Marketing and building a fighter takes time. Its an investment and like anything else, doesnt pay off with out years of effort. Perhaps you are too focused on fighters with an established name bouncing around...but ask yourself how would they become that name dancing around between promoters? It would never happen. 1) They said the same think about baseball players, football players (both kinds), basketball players and they all have much better deals than boxers. Which provides a drain on talent wanting to enter the sport, why box if you are top end athlete that has other options. 2) Boxing is broken and has been forever, it is a house with a rotten wood frame that needs to be burnt to the ground. Who says it is promoters that have to build fighters, that is just how it has been done, not a law sent down from on high. It can work but how many guys really make it and how many get jobbed. 3) It can be made to work, and instead of focusing on fighters it would focus the sport on events because events would need to make money. It would be a drastic change, but I would say drastic change is needed for the sport long term. Also I am being purposely very simple because it is a very complex issue, in reality guys should be free to sign long term deals if they want or work on a fight by fight basis. If both were options it would be even better, because then the long term deal would have to be good providing benefit to the fighter as opposed to keeping the guy under lock and key.

11y ago

bigsmoothh

This is prize fighting - Why lock yourself into a lengthy contract with a promoter? Nowadays, that is dumb!! The blueprint has been given. Oscar, FMJ, and now Cotto have shown the younger fighters how to run their business. Look at Chaves Jr. and Mikey Garcia. Very smart moves trying to get from under their promoter. They want more control over their careers. How could anyone complain? The hatred for Haymon shows ignorance and a lack of respect for the fighters. The fact is fighters sign with Haymon to maximize profits. Anyone hating on that is a real hoe. so i guess is cool to backstab your boss while hes in rehab right. contract or no contract haymon and floyd dont want no more business with gbp, now whos the real hoe? floyd ran so fast as soon as he heard gbp and tr would work together and a possible fight between him and pac, made him a tbe marathon winner.

11y ago

WilkinsOlajuwon

Yea promoters would if all fighters banded together saying screw your garbage long term deals, what are the promoters going to do then? Promoters take risk financially so they are needed, but they need fighters or they have dick. Fighters would fight for the guy who bids the most, that is not a broken system they just have to make money when the guy fights for them. Boxing is a broken system as it is, is it not? Why would you sign a long term deal that does not provide real security that is the point behind having a longer term deal. It is not something most fans think about, but that does not mean it is not something a fan should not consider, think about or discuss. Lots of promoters are nothing but TV agents who do very little in getting other revenue streams to maximize, because it is much easier and less risky to just take the TV money and do the minimum rather than trying to really maximize. These are admirable ideas but they are a bit too pie-in-the-sky and need a dose of reality. 1. The chance of fighters banding together and snatching leverage from promoters is about 0%. At the end of the day someone has to foot the bill and put on a show. Fighters have enough to worry about that is why they have managers and promoters in the first place and that is why they will never dictate the economy of the sport just like every other athlete in every other sport. 2. Boxing has problems but you are overstating its brokenness. The basic system of promoters building up fighters has always, ans still is, in tact. Barring some sort of organized league, its essential. This is how Canelo, Pac, Cotto, and even oscar and floyd became names. Tertiary circumstances like the cold war and network house fighters hinder this system but it's still what drives the sport. 3. "Fighters would fight for the guy who bids the most, that is not a broken system they just have to make money when the guy fights for them." This is another pie-in-the-sky view. Marketing and building a fighter takes time. Its an investment and like anything else, doesnt pay off with out years of effort. Perhaps you are too focused on fighters with an established name bouncing around...but ask yourself how would they become that name dancing around between promoters? It would never happen.

11y ago

bigsmoothh

It doesn't matter who it is. As a Promoter, having a bunch of Freelancers isn't appealing. It's risky and tends to be less profitable. But on the flip side, it is better financially for the fighters. Being a Freelancer is in the advantage of the fighter. Now for a Promotional company, their interest is more about making profits for the Company, as opposed to fighters making profits. That's the way many corporations operate. And what makes you think this doesn't 'screw' Floyd up, and other fights under Haymon? It definitely causes some problems because they are all breaking a successful working relationship established for years. And now have to rebuild it elsewhere. That is not easy to do in the short term. So Haymon in essence did get 'screwed' too. Haymon was in a comfortable position, and now there's discomfort and he has to rearrange chairs to recreate comfort, which takes time. To me, all of them took damage cause it's a crossfire. Oscar took a hit, Schaefer took a hit, and Haymon took a hit. In my opinion, it would've been better if they all could've came to a resolution together. Cheaper that way. What's happening now is expensive sh*t. if anyone got the screwed on this its definitely oscar. richard and haymon probably planned this a while back. and honestly im not suprised, no matter how you look at things richard knew damn well what he was doing. floyd ran as soon as he heard gbp and tr would work together because he has no dignity and no matter what he just wont fight pac, trying to save face and the sad thing is his fans eat all them excuses up. what does floyd,ellerbe,haymon,schaefer have in common?

11y ago

I_Love_Jesus

Now that I think about it. Something tells me Schaefer and Haymon have been planning this for a loooooonnnnnnggggg time. Think about it, Schaefer brought all these guys into GB without a contract and were also signed to Haymon. That tells me Schaefer and Haymon were using Oscar and his company to promote their future fighters cause neither one had a license to promote. Its clear as day. And then people say Schaefer and Haymon arent a pair of snakes. wow nothing gets by you does it? tell me, how did you figure it all out?

11y ago

The_Gambler1981

In this sport the promoters have the leverage, not the fighters. Floyd is really the only guy that breaks this mold. Fighters NEED them whether you like it or not. Promoters would never ever go for something like this. They are in the business of building fighters up and that takes time. Why would they put on a fight and then watch another promoter capitalize the next? what you propose is a broken system. If fighters have zero job security why would shorter contracts help or even be an option? lol Fans dont care about contracts, fans want the best fighting the best (tho that is an eroding subset) but, more importantly, this has no bearing on your argument making sense. You are making a lot of sweeping statements like promoters would have to actually do their job...etc. TV revenue is the biggest stream there is, what else should they be doing? Are they not trying to sell tickets? This makes no sense. In fact, this entire idea is all over the place. I think you should rethink it for an hour and then try again. Yea promoters would if all fighters banded together saying screw your garbage long term deals, what are the promoters going to do then? Promoters take risk financially so they are needed, but they need fighters or they have dick. Fighters would fight for the guy who bids the most, that is not a broken system they just have to make money when the guy fights for them. Boxing is a broken system as it is, is it not? Why would you sign a long term deal that does not provide real security that is the point behind having a longer term deal. It is not something most fans think about, but that does not mean it is not something a fan should not consider, think about or discuss. Lots of promoters are nothing but TV agents who do very little in getting other revenue streams to maximize, because it is much easier and less risky to just take the TV money and do the minimum rather than trying to really maximize.

11y ago

QballLobo

Actually they can't. If Schaefer feels he's not being allowed to do his job, he has a valid case. Now it's up to Oscar to decide if he wants to fight this or not. But he cannot be replaced by another CEO without getting fired. That's a fact. Wrong, if Shaefer resigns Golden Boy has no choice but to hire his replacement. Doesn't mean his original contract is null and void unless he can prove that Golden Boy violated their end of the deal. He will basically have to prove that the company he was running the last few years violated his own contract, meaning he himself worked against himself. Good luck with that. Like I said I have seen this scenario play out many times, some on smaller scales and some on much larger and the majority of the time the company gets the better end of the deal. Golden Boy holds the cards in this case. Last thing I will say is this: Most likely a settlement will be reached which prevents Shaefer from working with a direct competitor for a long period of time, long enough that Golden Boy will have a different structure in place that Shaefer has no intimate knowledge of.

11y ago

WilkinsOlajuwon

Why not, if you can win you can sign a better deal after those fights while a 4 fight deal they are stuck with where they were at the beginning. There is zero job security for boxers anyway and promoters have screwed countless guys on longer term deals. It would be a more market based system and you really didn't explain why fans should be against fighters being on shorter term deals. Promoters would have to do their job and actually make money on fights not just depending on TV revenue. Sit and think about it for like 10 minutes then respond. In this sport the promoters have the leverage, not the fighters. Floyd is really the only guy that breaks this mold. Fighters NEED them whether you like it or not. Promoters would never ever go for something like this. They are in the business of building fighters up and that takes time. Why would they put on a fight and then watch another promoter capitalize the next? what you propose is a broken system. If fighters have zero job security why would shorter contracts help or even be an option? lol Fans dont care about contracts, fans want the best fighting the best (tho that is an eroding subset) but, more importantly, this has no bearing on your argument making sense. You are making a lot of sweeping statements like promoters would have to actually do their job...etc. TV revenue is the biggest stream there is, what else should they be doing? Are they not trying to sell tickets? This makes no sense. In fact, this entire idea is all over the place. I think you should rethink it for an hour and then try again.

11y ago

Kagami_Taiga

Actually they can. I come from a family of lawyers and have seen this scenario played out many times. Shaefer wasn't fired, he resigned. Now it may have been going that way but he still resigned. Shaefer can't just leave his post no more than a fighter can't sign a contract with one company and leave the next day to join a competitor without being released by the original company. The question is what did Shaefer sign? If the contract language says he is with Golden Boy until 2018 he can be held to that unless he is fired with cause. Shaefer's only recourse is to prove that Golden Boy violated their part of the agreement and did not allow him to do his job and that will be very difficult since he was in charge. Shaefer has intimate knowledge of the company and has a vested interest and I doubt Golden Boy would sign him to a contract without protections against him just up and leaving and going to a different entity and competing directly with Golden Boy. I have a feeling that this was the cause of the acrimony as Shaefer appeared to be aligning himself with Haymon and in some cases working against Golden Boy's best interest. Your not wrong at all saying that Shaefer can fight it but the onus is on him to prove that he quit due to something Golden Boy did that violated his agreement. Oscar wanting to work with Top Rank and Shaefer not wanting to because Arum is a mean old man won't cut it. By what Rafeal is reporting Golden Boy knows their hand and is probably going to play it. I predict it will be a long while before we see Shaefer in a official capacity with another boxing entity.... Actually they can't. If Schaefer feels he's not being allowed to do his job, he has a valid case. Now it's up to Oscar to decide if he wants to fight this or not. But he cannot be replaced by another CEO without getting fired. That's a fact.

11y ago

QballLobo

That's the thing. He signed a contract to do a job. The job given him is to run the company. If then, he's not allowed to run the company, then the terms of the contract would be violated. They can't replace Schaefer with someone else that does their bidding and then hold him to the terms of the contract. That's the point. It's not Oscars job to run the company. Now if Oscar thinks Schaefer has violated his fiduciary duties to the company, he can take him to court. But that doesn't seem to be what the play is. But once again, Schaefer is 1 of 1. He cannot be replaced by someone else unless they intend on letting him go. Actually they can. I come from a family of lawyers and have seen this scenario played out many times. Shaefer wasn't fired, he resigned. Now it may have been going that way but he still resigned. Shaefer can't just leave his post no more than a fighter can't sign a contract with one company and leave the next day to join a competitor without being released by the original company. The question is what did Shaefer sign? If the contract language says he is with Golden Boy until 2018 he can be held to that unless he is fired with cause. Shaefer's only recourse is to prove that Golden Boy violated their part of the agreement and did not allow him to do his job and that will be very difficult since he was in charge. Shaefer has intimate knowledge of the company and has a vested interest and I doubt Golden Boy would sign him to a contract without protections against him just up and leaving and going to a different entity and competing directly with Golden Boy. I have a feeling that this was the cause of the acrimony as Shaefer appeared to be aligning himself with Haymon and in some cases working against Golden Boy's best interest. Your not wrong at all saying that Shaefer can fight it but the onus is on him to prove that he quit due to something Golden Boy did that violated his agreement. Oscar wanting to work with Top Rank and Shaefer not wanting to because Arum is a mean old man won't cut it. By what Rafeal is reporting Golden Boy knows their hand and is probably going to play it. I predict it will be a long while before we see Shaefer in a official capacity with another boxing entity....

11y ago

Kagami_Taiga

Steve Jobs was still one of the major shareholders when he left Apple. Yup and he evntially got more shares when he sold his next venture to them. It's not uncommon for a competitor to have shares in your company. That's typically how hostile take overs happen.

11y ago

JQside

Steve Jobs was still one of the major shareholders when he left Apple.

11y ago

Kagami_Taiga

I don't think he wants to keep Shaefer at Golden Boy against his will but that doesn't mean he is going to let him walk and be his competitor without a fight. At most he can string this along while he gets a new CEO in place and has a structure in place. At best he keeps Shaefer away from TMT for whatever it will with Shaefer having intimate knowledge of how Golden Boy operates. And while California is notorious as being a labor friendly state, a contract is a contract. Shaefer is smart enough to know what kind of contract he is getting into or smart enough to hire people to let him know the implications of signing a long term deal. California normally is very aggressive in fighting for the little guy that doesn't have the know how or means to protect themselves. Shaefer can't claim ignorance. If he signed a contract stating he would represent Golden Boy's interests until 2018 he can be held to that unless he shows how Golden Boy violated their end of the deal, which again is going to be very difficult since he was pretty much running things the last few years. From the sounds of Rafaels post Golden Boys lawyers are pretty confident in how the contract language is written but you never know. That's the thing. He signed a contract to do a job. The job given him is to run the company. If then, he's not allowed to run the company, then the terms of the contract would be violated. They can't replace Schaefer with someone else that does their bidding and then hold him to the terms of the contract. That's the point. It's not Oscars job to run the company. Now if Oscar thinks Schaefer has violated his fiduciary duties to the company, he can take him to court. But that doesn't seem to be what the play is. But once again, Schaefer is 1 of 1. He cannot be replaced by someone else unless they intend on letting him go.

11y ago

_JSFD26_

Yeah but those non-compete clauses run for about a year or whenever any business he was involved in is over. A year? That's nothing. Hey man, what can I say, sometimes the smallest things annoy people the most. Youre right tho, a year is nothing.

11y ago

QballLobo

The problem with that is no corporation keeps a disgruntled CEO. As CEO it's your job to run the buiness. Oscar owns the majority of the shares in the company, with that said if the two of them are having a difftence of vision, his best bet is to let Schaefer go. He can't hold him hostage and not let him do his job. That's kind of not how it works. Not sure what Oscar thought was gonna happen anyways. This goes to show how erratic his moves are I don't think he wants to keep Shaefer at Golden Boy against his will but that doesn't mean he is going to let him walk and be his competitor without a fight. At most he can string this along while he gets a new CEO in place and has a structure in place. At best he keeps Shaefer away from TMT for whatever it will with Shaefer having intimate knowledge of how Golden Boy operates. And while California is notorious as being a labor friendly state, a contract is a contract. Shaefer is smart enough to know what kind of contract he is getting into or smart enough to hire people to let him know the implications of signing a long term deal. California normally is very aggressive in fighting for the little guy that doesn't have the know how or means to protect themselves. Shaefer can't claim ignorance. If he signed a contract stating he would represent Golden Boy's interests until 2018 he can be held to that unless he shows how Golden Boy violated their end of the deal, which again is going to be very difficult since he was pretty much running things the last few years. From the sounds of Rafaels post Golden Boys lawyers are pretty confident in how the contract language is written but you never know.

11y ago

IMDAZED

That would be possible in most states. But California Is notoriously hostile to such clauses. in fact, they are the most hostile state in the US when it comes to that. I'm confused as to what Oscar is trying to accomplish. Does he want Schaefer gone? Or is he merely trying to castrate him? Problem is it seems like a free of the to her top guys are expected to be leaving too. This is getting real messy fast. I'm always hesitant when I see a CEO resign because that usually means he was canned. But I thought Schaefer's actions before all of this reeked of someone who wanted to leave. And now with all the news coming out about who is or isn't contracted to GBP, it makes sense. Oscar probably wiped his nose long enough to realize that his company has moved on without him and that most of the decision makers were moving on period. What do you do? Necessity makes for strange bedfellows, which is why he's back rubbing elbows with Arum. De La Hoya can fight some of these items legally but if it's true that most of the fighters aren't contracted to his outfit then it really doesn't matter.

11y ago

The_Gambler1981

Yeah but those non-compete clauses run for about a year or whenever any business he was involved in is over. A year? That's nothing. That also probably played a part in his resignation, better to get that clock started rather than just twist in the wind hoping things work out.

11y ago