Former boxing star, Golden Boy , Oscar De La Hoya could do no wrong in the ring; win or lose he inspired fan adulation and support. Commercial success prompted him to open a promotional company, Golden Boy Promotions which is currently a leader in staging boxing events. Oscar De La Hoya promised fans good competitive match ups in 2012 and the schedule for the first half of the year indicates that he was true to his words.
?It’s like one date after the other, ? said Golden Boy?s CEO, Richard Schaefer who many believe is responsible for the meteoric rise of Los Angeles based company:?We are extremely busy; a lot of fights with HBO, a lot of fights with Showtime, lots of Televisafights, Solo Boxeo. Last year we had one hundred and fourevents. I think we?redefinitely going to be in that neighborhood this year. We have great staff;great office and we’d like to keep our fighters busy.?
Golden Boy Promotions is staging a great night of boxing from Reliant Arena in Houston, Texas this Saturday. Televised live by HBO the main event will feature Mexican ring legend, the last man to defeat Manny Pacquiao, Erik Morales defending his WBC light welterweight title against young and hungry contender, Danny Garcia. Please, do not miss the co- main event which will feature light middleweight showdown between James? The Mandingo Warrior? Kirkland and Carlos Molina.
No boxing event will be bigger this spring than May 5th extravaganza from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It will feature American super star, Floyd Mayweather Jr. pitted versus Puerto Rican icon, Miguel Cotto. Both Floyd and Miguel Cotto have their own promotional outfits. So why Golden Boy Promotions is is putting on the event? They have done business with Floyd Mayweather promoting his recent fights. What about Miguel Cotto who became a free agent to land a shot at Mayweather?
?I am not going to tell you what kind of deal we have with Miguel, because it’s frankly nobody’s business,? said Schaefer:? But certainly it’s a series of fights, which we have discussed. That?sall I am going to say.?
Whatever the deal is, Golden Boy is a promoter of record for May 5th? Ring Kings? which will also feature rising star from Mexico, Saul Alvarez pitted against future hall of famer, Sugar Shane Mosley.
Two weeks later, on May 19th, Golden Boy is putting on highly anticipated rematch between Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson at the Mandalay Bay Events center in Las Vegas. It will be televised live by HBO .Peterson won their first encounter last December via controversial decision.
?The first fight was like a fight of the year candidate,? continued Schaefer:? And as they say styles make fights. I think these two guys are made for each other. I think it is going to be another great fight. Amir Khan is one of the most skilled fighters, speed,power, combinations, everything. So it’s a very, veryexciting fight. And with Lamont Peterson you have somebody who may be has the biggest heart of any fighter in any weight class in the sport of boxing. When he is down he comes up. Not only does he come up,but he knows how to make adjustments. We’ve seen that in anOrtiz fight. We’ve seen it the first fight with Amir. When these two guy fight it’s fireworks and that’s what you can expect.?
Boxing fans were hugely disappointed when another highly anticipated rematch between Victor Ortiz and Andre Berto scheduled for February was postponed due to Berto?s shoulder injury.
?Yes it has been rescheduled,? confirmed Schaefer:?It’s going to be on June 23rd and it looks like, it’s not finalized yet, but it looks like it’s going to be at Staples Center.?
Speaking about rematches; Mexican lightweight Antonio DeMarco came from behind to score one of the most dramatic knock outs of last year over Jorge Linares. Linares complained that he was ahead and the fight was stopped prematurely. Are they going to do it again?
?DeMarco just won. Linares is going to have a fight in a week,? said Schaefer:?So assuming he wins, Gary Shaw and I made a deal for the rematch which would take place on July 7th on Showtime and it will be from Los Angeles.?
And please do not forget three division champion Robert Guerrero who will jump up two weight classes, all the way up to welterweight to face Selcuk Aydin for the interim WBC belt on July 27th at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.
This is a very impressive schedule for boxing fans. Is Golden Boy Promotions onto something? Imagine what would happen if they ever made up with their biggest rival, Top Rank and were able to put together the most anticipated fight in boxing history between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Stay tuned?
