In the first part of my interview with esteemed boxing scribe Thomas Hauser, we discussed Bob Arum?s history in the sport and the continued success he has enjoyed with Top Rank throughout the years. Hauser revealed that Arum, who divides his time between his Las Vegas offices and traveling various parts of the globe, isn?t a promoter who focuses solely on one specific fighter, venue or network and it?s not surprising that his company has found a way to stay current with the times.
In the second part of my interview with Hauser we take a look at Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions? place within the sport. De La Hoya once fought under Arum?s promotional umbrella and now can be looked at as his biggest competitor in the sport. Hauser also gives his take on gregarious promoter Lou Dibella and the actions of manager Al Haymon, who works with such fighters as Las Vegas? own Floyd Mayweather Jr., Andre Berto, and Paul Williams, amongst others.
In his own words, this is what Hauser had to say?
Oscar De La Hoya and Bob Arum? ?That?s business. It wouldn?t be the first time that people who collaborated together in business became rivals. Although I do think that Arum?s biggest rival in the promotional business today is not Oscar De La Hoya, it?s Richard Schaefer, who is a very, very talented businessman and has become the face of Golden Boy within the boxing world.?
Looking at Richard Schaefer? ?Richard Schaefer is a very talented businessman. I have been critical of HBO for giving Golden Boy the output deal and tilting the table in Golden Boy?s favor, which I believe HBO has done. But that criticism doesn?t extend to Richard Schaefer. He?s doing what he?s supposed to do as a promoter. I?m sure that any promoter in the business would sign an output deal with HBO if they have that opportunity.?
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Predicting the future? ?It?s very hard to know what will happen in this business in six months, let alone in two years. Lou Dibella was on the ropes recently. Then Sergio Martinez landed one overhand left against Paul Williams and suddenly the future looks bright for Lou. If Andre Berto can get a fight against Manny Pacquiao it will look even brighter. So it?s really hard to predict the future when business is predicated on what happens in the ring.?
Why Golden Boy will be around for a while? ?Golden Boy is going to be here for a while. There were people who said that Golden Boy would disappear when Oscar stopped fighting. Golden Boy is still here. Now there are people who say that Golden Boy will disappear once the HBO output deal ends. I don?t think so. I think Golden Boy is going to be here for a while. Richard Schaefer has some very wealthy investors in Golden Boy. He has a deal with the Barkley Center in Buffalo that is supposed to kick in 2012. He?s looking at other opportunities around the world, in England, in Russia and Far East. I don?t know how successful Golden Boy will be. They might have to reconfigure their model, but certainly I feel that they are here for the long haul.?
Knowing Lou Dibella? ?I know Lou much better now than I did when he was at HBO just because I have been in the business longer. He?s a good promoter. I believe that he genuinely cares about his fighters. He has made some mistakes in term of his business model that have hurt him over the years. He also was very badly stung when Bernard Hopkins defected. Lou had invested a lot of time, effort, emotional energy and money in Bernard and Bernard left at a time that was a really crucial point in Lou?s career. He?s still here and I think he?s the number three promoter in the United States right now behind Top Rank and Golden Boy.
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Lou’s situation… ?He?s good at what he does. The biggest problem with Lou?s situation over the years has been the fact that his business model could be reconfigured. My sense is that Lou?s overhead is very high compared to the overhead of other promoters who are at his level in boxing. But that?s the model he chose. Also, Lou, when he started he originally wanted to do what Al Haymon was doing today. And for whatever reason he wasn?t allowed to do it. States required him to be licensed as a promoter although they are not requiring Al Haymon to be licensed as a promoter.?
Al Haymon?s relationship with HBO? ?Al Haymon is very good at what he does. His responsibility is not to HBO, it?s not to the public; he has an obligation to his fighters to make as much money as possible. He sometimes guides them to the least amount of risks. He?s done that very well in part because he?s been able to threaten HBO. My sense is that HBO has paid ridiculous concession to AL Haymon in terms of the opponents his fighters face and the license fees that are paid to his fighters. I know that HBO says it doesn?t because Al has great fighters but if you look at Al?s client roster these days there are questions. He has Paul Williams, who is a very good, very exciting fighter and still has a future even though he has knocked out with one punch. Chris Arreola has turned out to be less than what HBO thought he was. Antonio Tarver really hasn?t done much lately other than to lose to Chad Dawson twice. Jermain Taylor is currently retired from boxing and I hope it stays that way. Andre Dirrell left the Showtime super middleweight tournament with some serious questions as to his motivation for leaving. If you go down the line Al is not the juggernaut that he?s portrayed to be. And without the concessions he gets from HBO I don?t know if we would be having the same conversations that we have in the industry.?
