Sparring Partner: AEG Buys Portion Of Golden Boy Promotions
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AEG Acquiring Stake In De La
Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions |
AEG is buying a part of Golden Boy Promotions, becoming the second-largest shareholder in the company after boxer Oscar De La Hoya. The two companies made a formal announcement of the deal Thursday in L.A., where both are based. Execs from the two companies got to know each other through De La Hoya's fights at the AEG-owned Staples Center. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer traces the relationship to a June 17, 2000, fight between De La Hoya and Shane Mosley. Schaefer: "That's when we first got to know the people at AEG, and through the years we've really respected and admired what they've done." Talks about a partnership started to get serious about two years ago. AEG President & CEO Tim Leiweke: "The deal creates content for our arenas. Golden Boy now does about 60 events a year, and that will grow to about 100 a year." Schaefer said that growth will come in AEG venues worldwide and will give Golden Boy the broader reach that it needs to find and sign the next generation of "iconic fighters." "This will allow us to bring a global impact to the sport of boxing." Schaefer: "Who knows where the next Oscar De La Hoya will come from? He may come from China." De La Hoya, whose most recent fight was in AEG's The Home Depot Center last weekend, is an investor in AEG's MLS Dynamo. Among the other shareholders of Golden Boy Promotions are Mosley and boxers Antonio Barrera and Bernard Hopkins. The new partners have not set a date for the first event together, but Schaefer said they are discussing three fights across three continents that would be telecast on PPV from Shanghai, London's O2 and Staples Center (Ross Nethery & Tripp Mickle, SportsBusiness Journal).
IMPACT ON VEGAS: In L.A., Lance Pugmire writes the AEG-Golden Boy deal could "change the complexion of boxing in Las Vegas." MGM/Mirage in recent years has begun to "dominate the fight game," but AEG is planning a new 20,000-seat arena to be completed by 2010. De La Hoya, who has hinted he will retire after this year, is tentatively scheduled to face Floyd Mayweather Jr. on September 20 at the MGM Grand, but Thursday at the press conference announcing the deal De La Hoya said that his "final bout appears destined for an AEG facility." Meanwhile, Schaefer said that as part of the deal, Golden Boy "may also explore the concert promotion business." Schaefer: "It's a natural extension, especially the Hispanic music side of the business" (L.A. TIMES, 5/9).
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