Oscar De La Hoya the boxer met up with Oscar De La Hoya the promoter at the Sears Tower in Chicago on Thursday.
De La Hoya is the president of Golden Boy Promotions Inc., one of the two companies promoting his Dec. 6 welterweight bout against Manny Pacquiao with a cross-country tour of historic landmarks. Arena seats are already sold out and resales are listed at nearly $30,000.
In 2001, De La Hoya took his nickname, The Golden Boy, and started his own promotional company. Golden Boy Promotions took De La Hoya, 35 and a 10-time world champion, out of the ring and into the boardroom. Now De La Hoya uses his charisma to promote 58 boxers, including 175-pound light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins and 147-pound welterweight Shane Mosley.
De La Hoya the businessman is always looking to expand his brand. Earlier this year a subsidiary of Anschutz Co. became the second largest shareholder behind De La Hoya. On Sept. 14, clothing manufacturer and mixed martial arts promoter Affliction announced a partnership with Golden Boy Promotions. The two companies intend to put on at least four events featuring both boxing and mixed martial arts in 2009.
?I think the opportunities are endless in mixed martial arts,? De La Hoya said Thursday. ?That recently had presented itself and it?s a business. We are interested in having businesses under the Golden Boy umbrella.?
Expansion is necessary if Golden Boy Promotions is going to branch away from its most marketable property, De La Hoya himself. Before forming his company, De La Hoya was already one of the top grossing HBO pay-per-view boxers of all-time. His 18 fights have generated 12.8 million buys and more than $625 million in revenues.
Fights including De La Hoya are still wildly popular; the upcoming fight at the MGM Grand casino?s Garden Arena in Las Vegas against Pacquiao sold out in a little over an hour and generated an almost $17 million gate. That take was the second highest in history. Golden Boy Promotions also was affiliated with the highest of all-time, De La Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather?s $19 million gate in May 2007.
Even though the bout is still more than two months away, Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions is excited by the coverage and sponsorship it has received. ?We are proud to give these boxers the national and worldwide recognition they deserve,? said Schaefer.
The attention is important for Golden Boy Promotions, which has a hand in both fighters? careers. The company has sharing rights for the Philippine boxer with Pacquiao?s main promoter, Top Rank Inc.
If fans are unable to attend the fight or make it to Las Vegas, they can watch the fight on HBO pay-per-view. Mark Taffet, the senior vice president of HBO Sports pay-per-view, expects the De La Hoya vs. Pacquiao fight to be bolstered by De La Hoya and Pacquiao?s popularity.
?For the sport of boxing it is very, very important that at least once a year there?s a matchup that truly transcends the sport,? said Taffet. ?One that interests sports fans and non-sports fans all across America, and has everyone buzzing and talking about it. Make no mistake about it, De La Hoya versus Pacquiao is that match up for 2008.?
De La Hoya said Thursday that he would probably retire if he lost to Pacquiao. That makes the Dec. 6 fight not just the match up for 2008, but the match up to finish De La Hoya?s transition from the ring to the boardroom.
