Mayweather follows CEO out the door of Golden Boy

Tom Gatto

Mayweather follows CEO out the door of Golden Boy image

Boxing superstar Floyd Mayweather Jr. has ended his relationship with Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions.

ESPN's Dan Rafael reported Monday that Mayweather severed ties with the company hours after its CEO, Richard Schaefer, resigned.

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Mayweather's company, Mayweather Promotions, will handle the world welterweight and middleweight champion's bouts. The next one is scheduled for Sept. 13.

"Mayweather Promotions will continue to promote Floyd's fights and Floyd will continue to put on the biggest fights in boxing. I have a tremendous team and staff and we continue to expand year by year and we're ready to go," Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather Promotions' chief executive, told Rafael. Ellerbe also said that Mayweather would "absolutely not" work with Golden Boy without Schaefer.

Schaefer, who has served more than a decade as CEO of the boxing company, issued a statement Monday saying it is time to move on to other opportunities.

"This decision has required a great deal of personal reflection, but ultimately I concluded that I have no choice but to leave," Schaefer said. "I have succeeded in banking and I have succeeded in boxing, and I look forward to the next opportunity."

Schaefer is leaving the company because of a dispute that involves rival promoter Bob Arum and Mayweather. Schaefer has served as the de facto promoter for Mayweather for several years, and is widely expected to be involved in future Mayweather fights in some capacity.

De La Hoya said last month he had reconciled with Arum, who promoted him most of his career, and wouldn't rule out future fights between Golden Boy boxers and Arum's Top Rank roster. Mayweather has consistently refused to fight Manny Pacquiao, partly because he is promoted by Arum, who was also Mayweather's former promoter.

Schaefer has built a close relationship with Mayweather and Al Haymon, who manages Mayweather and several top fighters. But Schaefer said he would never work with Arum or have fights between Golden Boy and the rival company.

A spokesman for De La Hoya said the fighter was unavailable Monday to comment on Schaefer's departure.

In his statement, Schaefer noted that he still remains a shareholder in the Los Angeles company and has a strong interest in its continued success. Golden Boy and Top Rank are by far the two biggest promoters in boxing, with Golden Boy aligned with the Showtime cable network and Top Rank with HBO.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.