The brass at Golden Boy Promotions still looked a bit dazed last Tuesday at the press conference to announce the January 24th bout between Shane Mosley and Antonio Margarito that takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It was just a few days after Oscar De La Hoya’s stunning dismissal at the hands of Manny Pacquiao on December 6th in Las Vegas.
What was thought to be a relatively easy night against the naturally smaller fighter that would lead to other big promotions in 2009 instead may have signaled the end of ‘the Golden Boy’s historically lucrative career. Boxing lost its biggest gate attraction and Golden Boy its signature fighter, someone who could single-handedly influence how the game was run.
The straw that stirs the drink is no longer.
Some have derided this loss as perhaps being the end of the boxing industry. But the reality is that this sport, for all its pratfalls, has overcome losing bigger and better prizefighters like Joe Louis, Muhammad Ali and Sugar Ray Leonard in the past. Boxing will survive and move on. As will Golden Boy Promotions, although they face the unique challenge of moving forward without De La Hoya the prizefighter opening doors for them.
As their remaining ‘Mt. Rushmore’ of partners (De La Hoya, Mosley and Hopkins) drifts into the twilight of their Hall-of-Fame careers, Golden Boy now attempts to replenish their promotional stable. One of their first priorities is establish a regular series to develop their fledgling prospects.
“We are currently looking at different television partners to do a monthly show from right across the street here, the Nokia Theater,” said Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer this past week. “And so we’re currently talking to three different television partners and we?ll see what we can do. But we do have a principle deal with AEG.”
ESPN is said to be one of the networks that Schaefer is referring to. AEG, which owns the Staples Center and the sprawling new LA Live facility that includes the Nokia Theater, consummated a business partnership with Golden Boy this past year.
Beyond the loss of De La Hoya as a marquee attraction, Golden Boy faces the same challenges as any other promotional firm in these tough economic times. As belts tighten for everyone across the board, the final frontier is how the fighters themselves deal with the shrinking numbers. The exorbitant figures of the past are just that.
“I think that’s the issue because at the end of the day, whether it’s Top Rank or us, we all cook with the same utensils and the same ingredients. Sponsorships, venues, television, all the revenue sources are getting tight, or tighter.” explained Schaefer. “So I think it takes an understanding from the fighters that we are all in the same boat. It means less money for the promoters, less money for the fighters, less money for everyone. And we all have to be realistic. And I think the fighters will understand – or I hope the fighters will understand.”
One effect of the current economic climate is that there will be a concerted effort to curb major pay-per-view shows in the upcoming year by the powers that be.
“You know what happens when you go through an economic downturn into an economic recession?” asked the Swiss banker, rhetorically. “Not just boxing, but any business, it comes out healthier. Because what they do is, they review their processes, they review their spending patterns. They review possible synergies and so on and that’s not just businesses, that’s you as an individual. If you make less money, what do you do? You have to look, you have to refocus, you have to prioritize. And that’s the same with boxing, and as a result, all of these businesses – and the individuals – they’re going to come out stronger and better out of a recession.
“And so it forces us to focus more, it forces us to rethink our approach and one of those is that there’s going to be less fights on pay-per-view. As a promoter, I’d want to put all our fights on live network television, but it helps me to understand the fighters, what the consequences are, dollars and cents. Do you think Bob Arum necessarily wants to put Pavlik and Cotto in those two fights on pay-per-view? If he could put it live on HBO or live on Showtime or live on network television, don’t you think he would rather do that? But sometimes as a promoter you have no choice and you have to do what is right for your fighter.”
Schaefer is referring to the February 21st show featuring the returns of Kelly Pavlik and Miguel Cotto coming off their first professional defeats that will be distributed by Top Rank independently as HBO and Showtime passed on their return fights versus relatively safe comeback opponents.
“You have to keep them busy, you have to allow them to make a living and you need to do things. You maybe don’t want to do it, but you have to. And that’s the way it goes.”
But Schaefer says that boxing will not only survive, but eventually thrive going into the future.
“I think if the fighters are understanding enough, some of these things will change and the fighters will understand what the economic environment is and it will be for the betterment of the sport. So I expect the sport of boxing to come out of this recession much stronger than it was a few years ago.”
GOLDEN FUTURE?
I didn’t ask Schaefer about the future of De La Hoya because quite frankly, I don’t think he has any real clue as to what he will do just yet. While most think he will hang them up, just remember, Ali didn’t quit for good after his shellacking at the hands of Larry Holmes. Instead, he went on and fought Trevor Berbick a full thirteen months later.
There is a lot of scuttlebutt about him having a farewell fight against the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr or a guy like Alfonso Gomez.
You can hear and see it now, Oscar will say he was overtrained, shouldn’t have been fighting as a welterweight and he simply can’t have his fans see him go out like that. This would be about pride and going out the right way.
I mean, right there, that’s three episodes of 24/7. (I can just hear the dramatic music and Liev Schreiber’s voice, can’t you?)
WEEKEND THOUGHTS
– What is it with fat, out-of-shape heavyweights and Dan Goossen? From David Tua and James Toney to, more recently, Chris Arreola, you’d be tempted to say that Goossen is boxing’s version of Jenny Craig – but people actually lose weight with that company.
Toney, who looked as rotund as ever, got a good heaping of homecooking in ‘winning’ a split decision over Fres Oquendo. What happened to that guy that looked relatively fit against Hasim Rahman just a few months back? Didn’t he say he was through wasting his career and had turned over a new leaf?
– Speaking of heavyweights, Hasim Rahman- who basically got a title shot by finding a trap door in his fight against Toney this past summer – actually lasted a lot longer than I thought he would against IBF heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. But he never fought like a guy who had a sense of urgency or real passion to actually win the fight.
For him, getting this last big payday was the very last of the equity he has remaining from his 2001 upset of Lennox Lewis.
As for Klitschko, for all this talk of him being the best heavyweight on the planet, I’m not convinced he’s even the best heavyweight in his own family. And his recent run on HBO has been Roy Jones-esque. Is he facing James Broad next on the network?
– Not too much to write home about on Showtime, either, unfortunately. The bout between Kendall Holt and late replacement Demetrius Hopkins, for the WBO jr. welterweight title, reminded me of what the old-timers used to say – one guy was afraid, and the other guy was happy for it. Despite the split verdict, I thought Holt clearly out-pointed Hopkins. As for his unification tilt with WBC belt-holder Tim Bradley, was it just me, or did he tower over him?
As for Yuri ‘Bore’-man, I was with a couple people watching the fights on Saturday night. During his ten rounder against James Moore, at one point or another, all of us fell asleep for a spell. Who says he doesn’t have power?
I mean, how many other fighters can score a triple-knockout?
FINAL FLURRIES
I would love to see a rematch between Tomasz Adamek and Steve Cunningham. I think Adamek-Cunningham I is right behind Vazquez-Marquez III and Margarito-Cotto for ‘Fight of the Year’ honors….Hey, was that Brian Viloria letting his hands go this Friday night?….I guess Malik Scott is back to being ‘Mr. 80-to-72’….Does Andre Ward step up in 2009? I think the time is overdue…..I hear that TV-Azteca could be stepping up to fill the void left by the cancellation of ‘Solo Boxeo’ on Telefutura….The Toney-Oquendo fight was so bad it almost had me yearning for Tye Fields. Almost….Several local promoters have expressed to me just how much smoother things are running without Armando Garcia running the CSAC and his ‘Men in Black’ (the red ties) mucking up the process….I’ll say it again, the Texans? Andre Johnson is the best wide receiver in the NFL, followed closely by the Panthers? Steve Smith….So Oscar was being fed deer meat prior to his fight with Pacquiao, huh? That’s funny because he had a deer-in-the-headlights look for much of that fight….
