GL: It’s been a while since we’ve had you on Boxingtalk. Can you give us some thoughts on the Pacquiao-Barrera rematch? “It was a highly successful promotion and it was a highly entertaining fight. We had a great crowd, it was almost a sold out crowd at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The PPV numbers came back strong, so all in all it was a great night.”
GL: Golden Boy has several big events coming starting with November 3 on Showtime. You also have HBO shows on November 10, November 17 and December 8. Can you comment on Golden Boy’s busy fall?
Richard Schaeffer: “On November 3 with Rocky Juarez and Juan Manuel Marquez, it’s an extremely important fight for both guys and there’s a lot on the line. Rocky has been looking sensational in the gym and Shelly Finkel, his manager is telling me that he has no doubt who will be winning that night, it will be Rocky. I’m hearing the same things coming out of the Marquez camp. He’s preparing very well and Nacho Beristain has been telling me that Juan Manuel will be at his best. Tickets are almost sold out in Arizona, and we’re happy to pull the fight off.
“On the undercard Robert Guerrero, a young emerging star in the featherweight division against a very dangerous challenger who is up to the task in Martin Honorio. Honorio has been waiting for the opportunity to fight for a world title and here it is. He promised me that he knows how to capitalize on this chance, so we’ll see. I think November 3 will be a very exciting and entertaining event for boxing fans.
“Moving on, a week later on November 10 at Madison Square Garden it will be a sell out crowd, to watch one of the best match-ups in boxing in recent years with Sugar Shane Mosley and Miguel Cotto. There’s some other huge potential match-ups and paydays with it for the winner of that fight. Shane is the veteran here. He’s quick, he’s fast, he’s powerful and he’s got a great chin. He’s been re-energized after his two thrilling stopage victories over Fernando Vargas. This will be a great, great fight. Then one week later we Joan Guzman and Humberto Soto. Then there’s the big one in December, which I will talk about in a minute with Mayweather and Hatton. And if you think about it this boxing paradise for the fans.
“These fights should attract non-boxing fans to the sport because there’s such great, meaningful action packed fights being made.”
GL: We were expecting some more action out the Pacquiao-Barrera rematch. Barrera seemed reluctant to engage Pacquiao. Were you disappointed with Barrera’s performance?
RS: “Maybe Pacquiao is so much better. Pacquiao could be on a level above everyone else and I certainly know that Marco really wanted that fight. And he really wanted to end of one of the greatest careers in the history boxing with another sensational win. Barrera wanted to win the fight, but Pacquiao wouldn’t let him. He really is like the energizer bunny. He’s really become a much more complete fighter over the last few years. I think you cannot say Barrera didn’t come to fight, I think Pacquiao has a lot to do with that as well, because he’s an absolutely amazing fighter.”
“In December, the fight which sold out in a few minutes, and I was just looking this morning at the closed circuit sales and we are already over 12,500 closed circuit seats sold in Las Vegas. This is going to be one of the biggest events not just of this year, but period. Mayweather has broken through and he has become a major PPV star. With his abilities in the ring, his personality outside the ring, he really is. I talked to him the other day and I told him that I’ve talked to few athletes period who know how to promote. This is a kid that really gets it.
“And the Ricky Hatton fanclub in England had 38,000 ticket request and only 4,000 tickets to allocate. Actually the night before the Mayweather-Hatton fight we’re going to be doing a British Invasion card on Telefutura. We will have some of these young emerging British fighters facing Mexican fighters. That will take place Friday December 7. This is the first time that information has been released. Tickets will go on sale within a week and the fight will also take place at the MGM Grand as well.”
GL: Will Michael Katsidis fight Juan Diaz next?
RS: “Actually we’ve just been informed that the fight could be going to purse-bid, but that is the fight we’re looking to make for him. On another note, as you know we have signed Jeff Lacy as well and we will have him busy this fall as well. One name that has been popping up more and more, is one of the most exciting fighters in boxing, who is of course Daniel Ponce De Leon. He’s only lost once and most of his fights have ended in first round knockout. We are currently working on putting him on one of these shows as well. Demetrius Hopkins and Abner Mares will be fighting on November 17 and there’s going to be a lot young, talented fighters in action this fall that will be future stars of this sport.”
GL: Now that we’ve talked about some fresh blood, let’s talk about some old blood. When will Bernard Hopkins return to the ring?
RS: “The Return of the Executioner. Well, we are going to watch very closely what happens with the fight between Calzaghe and Kessler. Bernard Hopkins is in a way, like a movie star who has earned many Oscars, so he’s just looking for those one or two remaining roles to further his legacy. His legacy is intact and he has nothing to prove, but if the right fight comes along he’ll be there and he’ll be up to the task. We’ll see in the next few months what shakes out. If we can put something together, I expect the Executioner to return some time in the Spring of 2008.”
GL: Will Oscar be watching the December 8 fight as closely as Bernard will be watching the Calzaghe-Kessler unification?
RS: “No question about it. I think Oscar will be watching very closely what is going to transpire between now and the end of the year. And then as it has become customary, Oscar will give me my marching order sometime around the middle of December. He has already made it clear to me and to HBO that he definitely will fight May 5 and he will fight September 15 as well. What he has indicated to me is that next year will be the final year of his career and he wants to go out with a bang.”
