AEG, which owns the Kings, the Galaxy and Staples Center, has purchased a minority percentage of Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions, it was announced Thursday, forging a partnership that is expected to not only help replenish the promoter's aging stable of fighters but also expand boxing's reach worldwide.
"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," De La Hoya said.
Golden Boy, a company De La Hoya established in 2001, is connected to about 50 boxing events annually but in need of younger stars. The popular boxer from East L.A. is promising to retire at the end of the year, while veteran former champions Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosley and Juan Manuel Marquez are all coming off losses.
"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's financial backing and global venues should give Golden Boy more flexibility in pursuing Olympic boxers who become stars during this summer's Beijing Games, as well as other free-agent prospects, Schaefer said.
Tim Leiweke, chairman of AEG, said discussions of a possible union have been going on since De La Hoya fought Mosley at Staples Center in 2000, and Schaefer said those negotiations intensified in the last few years.
The ties began to get tighter this year after De La Hoya bought a piece of the Houston Dynamo soccer 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.
Thursday's deal also opens the door for boxing to enter new arenas, since AEG owns 30 venues, including Staples Center, Home Depot Center, the O2 Arena in London, the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the Target Center in Minnesota, Kansas City's Sprint Center and the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz.
In addition, Schaefer said Thursday that Golden Boy may also explore the concert promotion business.
"It's a natural extension, especially the Hispanic music side of the business," he said.
