So, Richard Schaefer has left Golden Boy? Well, a twitter announcement does not a big move make. I will believe this one when I officially see it, but it looks as if Richard Schaefer has indeed left Golden Boy Promotions. The alliances within that very powerful company are a complex web, that also involves Showtime as well as Al Haymon, and Floyd Mayweather. In the immediate aftermath, it appeared Schaefer was not only leaving Golden Boy, but based on his wording, he was leaving boxing altogether. Leonard Ellerbe, Mayweather's chief advisor has annoucned that this will also sever the ties between Golden Boy and Mayweather Promotions.
Many questions are now being asked: What does that mean for Golden Boy's deal with Showtime? It is Mayweather who is bound to Showtime. GBP is simply forbidden from HBO. Does this open the door to new networks? Does this mean Top Rank and Golden Boy will be working together again (besides the one-off Russell-Lomachencko fight)? Will Al Haymon fighters jump ship from Golden Boy? There are many questions, but I will attempt to do what I do best (and by "best" I just mean "frequently"... predict the answers.Floyd Mayweather
I am not sure TMT is really ready to kiss off GBP. The strong undercards we are accustomed to, as well as Floyd's pool of opponents, all have come from GBP. If he tries to rely on himself, he simply does not have enough fighters, nor are there many who are unrepresented by one of the big two. And remember, it was Floyd who said he would not work with Arum, long before Schaefer inferred it. Odds are, Mayweather will still involve GBP in his own cards, or else his PPV undercards are going to be even worse than Top Rank's, and that is saying a lot.
Al Haymon
Haymon is responsible for 95% of GBP's non-Latino fighters, and if he leaves, they are a strictly a FS1 weekly series with virtually no big names. Add to that that haymon culd easily be his own promoter, and I think Oscar will do whatever it takes to keep Big Al happy... including opening up more networks to showcase his fighters.... FXX, CBSSN, etc.
