On the wake of Al Haymon’s huge announcement of his new deal with NBC, one has to wonder, what does the future hold for boxing and the super power promoters who rule it?
Is boxing destined to suffer as Haymon tightens his grip, or will the fight game flourish under the watchful eye of boxing’s very own mystery man?
The chaos began in mid-2014 when the inevitable news broke; Golden Boy supremo Richard Schaefer severed all ties with long-time associate Oscar De La Hoya. From that point, the rumor mill began spinning profusely with stories that Schaefer and Haymon were to unite in an attempt to wrestle the superiority from the top two promoters–Golden Boy and Top Rank.
It has not worked out that way as of yet, however, the latest revelations could most definitely have the same implications as Haymon holds a significant sway in modern day boxing circles.
In particular, Haymon’s decision to go at it alone could have disastrous repercussions for Golden Boy, who have relied heavily on the renowned manager’s influence to keep its top stars happy and under that iconic Golden Boy banner.
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Now though, many of those big names in the sport have pledged their allegiance to the boxing mogul, leaving Oscar with an incredible headache that will only get worse as the cracks begin to appear.
The recent settlement though, which is reportedly upwards of eight figures, does not appear to be as brutal as first imagined. De La Hoya’s stable will still include Amir Khan, Leo Santa Cru and Lucas Matthysse, who are all under contract. But fighters such as Danny Garcia, Keith Thurman and Adrien Broner and Robert Guerrero have sided with their influential manager.
So, with Haymon confirming his impressive first bill in March–which features Keith Thurman vs. Robert Guerrero and Adrien Broner vs. John Molina–will this shadowy figure give boxing that positive injection it has been severely lacking over recent years?
It is very premature to tell, but the early signs are incredibly encouraging, with a stable full of quality fighters, a TV network, and a former HBO executive as his go-to-guy, Al Haymon has a fantastic foundation set to thrive in this current boxing era.
Golden Boy and Top Rank will most definitely have to regroup but the future is uncertain for Oscar De La Hoya. Does he have what it takes to deal with the defections? No one knows how this will eventually play out; however, we can only hope that we are not looking down the barrel of another long drawn out cold war.
