AEG, De La Hoya's Golden Boy to be partners
The combined ability of the arena giant and his promotion company to stage major events means 'good things . . . for boxing,' Oscar De La Hoya says.
AEG has purchased a minority percentage of Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, it was announced today, creating a partnership expected to help replenish the promoter's aging stable of boxers while expanding the worldwide reach of the sport at AEG venues.
"This has to rank as the most important deal we've done when you think of the components," De La Hoya said this week at AEG offices in Los Angeles. "The good things this means for boxing and the exciting things this means for a fighter . . . for years to come, it's a good time to be a fighter."
Golden Boy, currently connected to an estimated 50 annual boxing events, is in need of younger stars. De La Hoya is promising to retire the end of the year, and veteran former champions Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez are all coming off losses in their most recent fights.
"The idea behind this was the need to develop the next generation," said Richard Schaefer, chief executive of Golden Boy. "If you're a young and talented fighter and you see what Golden Boy now offers . . . no other promoter can offer as much to the young kid wanting to become a big star."
AEG Chairman Tim Leiweke said discussions of a possible union have been going on since De La Hoya fought Mosley at AEG's Staples Center in 2000. Schaefer said those negotiations intensified in the last few years. Earlier this year, De La Hoya bought a piece of Major League Soccer's Houston Dynamo franchise from AEG. And last week, it was announced that a seven-foot-tall bronze statue of De La Hoya would join those of Wayne Gretzky and Magic Johnson outside Staples Center.
Leiweke celebrated the Golden Boy deal not only for the addition of De La Hoya to a sports-entertainment empire that includes Kobe Bryant and David Beckham but also because of his own enthusiasm for the sport.
"We had to have faith in the future of boxing to do this deal," Leiweke said. "The future of boxing is bright."
De La Hoya's victory over Steve Forbes at AEG's Home Depot Center on Saturday in front of an announced crowd of 27,000 proves the point, Leiweke said.
"Look at what Oscar did here Saturday night," Leiweke said. "Anyone who believes this sport is headed in a negative direction is incorrect. . . . What got us excited is [Golden Boy's] tremendous vision to grow their fighter stable, and have them maximize their careers."
