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May 25, 2009
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Schaefer Lashes Out At Arum Over Mayweather-Pacquiao

By Rick Reeno

Golden Boy Promotions CEO, Richard Schaefer, is very annoyed with some of the recently published comments from Top Rank's CEO, Bob Arum, regarding his willingness to make a super-fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.

During an interview with USA Today, Arum said his company was ready and willing to make a Mayweather-Pacquiao showdown, and he was waiting for someone on behalf of Mayweather to call his office.

"We've announced we're willing to make anything happen. Now somebody has got to contact us so we can sit down and explore how it can happen. Isn't that the way normal people deal? You can't wave a wand. I've said unequivocally, we're ready to sit down and see if a deal can be reached," Arum said.

In the opinion of Schaefer, Arum is using Mayweather's name for promotional purposes and has no intention of making the fight. Schaefer further indicates that if Arum was legitimately serious about making a deal, he would be the individual to pick up his phone - instead of "waiting to receive a call from the A-side."

Mayweather has made it clear to Golden Boy, according to Schaefer, that he doesn't have any intention of dealing with Arum or anyone else at Top Rank.

"What does Arum think that he's the godfather of boxing? Who the hell does he think he is? People have to come and call him and kiss his ring or kiss his ass. That's not going to happen. It's f***ing unheard of. And the same day you are reading on USA Today, that's he's willing to make a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight. The same day, not a day later or a week later...but the same day - he announces that Pacquiao is going to fight on April 12th at the MGM against one of three names. All of these media members are being fooled by this idiot. They actually think he wants to put together a Mayweather-Pacquiao fight," Schaefer told BoxingScene.com.

"He's using Mayweather's name to drum up publicity of Pacquiao. When it is convenient for him, he uses Mayweather's name. Mayweather is pretty clear, as clear as it can be. He is not going to be dealing with Arum or Todd [duBoef] or anyone else over there. He doesn't need them. If you want Mayweather-Pacquiao, then okay. Make Pacquiao available and Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions will take care of everything."

"If you add up Pacquiao's last three pay-per-view numbers, I bet you Mayweather did more in one night [against Canelo] than Pacquiao did in three or maybe four fights. It's a fact. This is not like it was before. If Arum wants to step aside and let the fight happen - then great. We can do that. He's done that to us in the past where we had to step aside, because we wanted to do a fight and he had the A-side. Now it's the other way around. Mayweather Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions are happy to do the fight."

Schaefer, along with Mayweather Promotions, are willing to offer Top Rank a replica of the exact terms that Arum presented to Golden Boy in order to make a fight between Nonito Donaire and Abner Mares.

They will pay Top Rank an agreed upon fee for the services of Pacquioao, and Top Rank's banner will be present on all of the promotional items - but Golden Boy and Mayweather's company will handle the entire promotion of the event.

"We are not looking to cut Arum out, this is not about not paying Bob. He can have his Top Rank logo on the banner, no problem. He can have a few seats, no problem. It's nothing to do with disrespecting, but if he thinks he's the driving force here - what f***ing arrogance does the guy have?," Schaefer said.

"We are using his blueprint. The same thing he said with Donaire, that Donaire was such a bigger star than Mares. Okay, you know what, we will use your own blueprint. And there is no disputing, no question that Mayweather is the number one star in the sport. Mayweather is the highest paid athlete in the world. And with his TMT brand - he makes more money from the TMT brand than Pacquiao makes fighting. I've seen the numbers. TMT is one of the hottest apparel brands in the urban market today."

"We have been working with Floyd since 2007. We broke records together and broke our own records. We are all friends, our kids are friends, and we are like one big family. Arum can call whoever he wants to call, but it's not going to happen with him involved. He's irrelevant in the equation. Pacquiao is not the A-side, Mayweather is the A-side."

Pacquiao returned to the ring last month and won a twelve round unanimous decision over Brandon Rios in Macau, China. Arum told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated that the pay-per-view buyrate was between 500,000 to 550,000. Schaefer, however, told BoxingScene that he was told by sources in the pay-per-view industry that Pacquiao-Rios generated between 300,000 and 350,000.

"That whole China experience....I bet you that Pacquiao will never again fight in China. You know why? Because it was a flop. Arum is not gong to say it was a flop, but it was a flop. Look how quickly he changed his tune [about Pacquiao not fighting in America due to taxes]. The event was barely over and he was already announcing Pacquiao's next fight for the United States. It must not have been such a great experience," Schaefer said.

Schaefer says the low buyrate, for Pacquiao-Rios, is a reflection of the many fans who complained about the lackluster undercard.

"He talks about the production, how Top Rank's production is so great and better than HBO's production or anybody else. What is he talking about? Does he think people are going to watch the show because of the great lights? He should be better off on spending money on making the fights better. People wants to spend their money to watch good fights, not better lighting," Schaefer said.

"I haven't met anyone who said 'oh, you have to watch the pay-per-view because Top Rank's lighting, it's f***ing unbelievable." He should let HBO do the production, they do a perfectly fine job. And then he can spend the money he can save on making better fights. That's what I would do."

Outside of the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight, Arum told USA Today that boxing's growth has stalled in the United States, and because of that situation Top Rank has ventured overseas to explore markets in other countries.

"[America is] a good market, but it's certainly not growing. Boxing in the U.S. is largely dependent on two premium networks (HBO and Showtime). And as the (aging) audience for boxing begins to die out and is not replaced by the younger generation, which looks elsewhere for its sports, how long is the support from the premium networks going to last?," Arum said.

Schaefer was very offended by the comments. The Golden CEO disagrees with Arum's opinion. He believes the boxing market in America is getting bigger - noting the high attendance figures over the last year for numerous events in the United States and the high television ratings on HBO and Showtime.

"He says that boxing is pretty much become irrelevant in the United States and that's why he's going to China, Russia, the Ukraine and so on. It's funny how all of these fighters from Ukraine, and the Russian ones too, are all fighting in the United States. Let them fight over there if it's such a land of opportunity. The land of opportunity is still is, and always will be, in the United States," Schaefer said.

"I believe in the United States. I believe in boxing in the United States and obviously I'm not the only one. Look at some of those great ratings that Showtime did this year, three of their highest ratings in their history have been this year. Look at the great ratings HBO is doing, over 1.3 million for the fight last weekend. This is hardly a dying sport in America."

"My focus will always be on America, and I'm proud to have come here as an immigrant to become an American citizen. I believe in Americana, I believe in boxing in America and I will not rest until boxing is once again the greatest sport in the country. When you see these ratings, it's very encouraging when you see premium networks like Showtime and HBO, on a regular basis, having ratings in excess of a million homes. That is not a dying sport."
 
Jul 24, 2005
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DERECK CHISORA CALLS OUT DEONTAY WILDER: "YOU ARE GROSSLY OVERHYPED FOR KNOCKING OVER NOBODIES"
By Press Release | December 04, 2013

British heavyweight star Dereck Chisora has sent an open letter challenging undefeated American hope Deontay Wilder to a showdown next year.

The Finchley puncher, who holds the European, WBO and WBA International titles, ended the year with a third round stoppage of Ondrej Pala at London's Copper Box Arena last Saturday night to make it four wins out of four this year - all by knockout.

Chisora has turned his career around with dominant performances over Malik Scott and Edmund Gerber and is now in prime position for his 2014 campaign for a second world title shot.

First, the 29-year-old wants to face the American KO king, who has knocked out all 30 of his opponents inside four rounds, to prove who is the better man.

Dear Deontay,

I'm asking you man-to-man and hope that you have the honour and courage to accept my challenge and fight me.

I'm in this business to prove that I'm the best and to become a world champion which I'm sure you are too, so take me up on my challenge and let's do this and get it on early next year.

I'll be honest, I don't rate you. You've put together a record of 30 knockouts from 30 fights, but I believe that you are grossly overhyped for knocking over nobodies - which is understandable for the first two years as a pro when you're learning - but after 30 fights you're still knocking over nobodies. As a guide I fought Vitali Klitschko for the world title in only my 18th fight. When are you going to step up and fight a real contender?

There's only one way to prove me wrong and shut me up and that is to get in the ring with me.

The fans want to see if you can really fight and back up your words by facing someone who will give you a real fight, where you can prove that you America's saviour in the heavyweight division, and that someone is me.

You can punch, there's no question about that, I can bang as well. It would be an explosive and exciting fight between us, but lets see who's got the bigger heart for the fight when the heat is on.

If you beat me fair and square I'll have no problem saying that you were the better man, but lets do it and prove who really is the better man.

Richard Schaefer from your promoter's Golden Boy Promotions has a good relationship with my promoter Frank Warren so there's no problem getting it made.

Deontay, if you are a proud fighting man then you will take up this challenge and give the fans and media what they want to see.

Regards,

Dereck Chisora
 
Jul 24, 2005
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BEIBUT SHUMENOV: "MY MAIN GOAL IS TO UNIFY ALL THE TITLES...I'D FIGHT BERNARD HOPKINS"
By Press Release | December 04, 2013

Beibut Shumenov is a former amateur standout in Europe and represented Kazakhstan in the 2004 Olympic Games. The WBA Super Light Heavyweight World Champion, he became the fighter with the fewest professional fights to win a 175-pound world title when he captured the crown in his tenth start.

On Saturday, Dec. 14, Shumenov (13-1, 8 KO's) will make his Golden Boy Promotions debut and his fifth title defense when he faces unbeaten Tamas Kovacs (23-0, 14 KO's) of Slovakia, in the opening bout of a SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING quadrupleheader live on SHOWTIME® (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT) from the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. It is the second of back-to-back four-fight telecasts on SHOWTIME. This Saturday, Dec. 7, friends-turned-foes and former World Champions Zab Judah and Paulie Malignaggi fight for Brooklyn bragging rights when they meet in the featured match at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

In the eagerly awaited main event on Dec. 14, popular, colorful, undefeated rising superstar Adrien "The Problem" Broner faces the toughest test of his career when he risks his WBA Welterweight World Championship against hard-hitting Marcos "El Chino" Maidana. In addition to Shumenov-Kovacs, there are two more 12-rounders on the stacked card: Undefeated WBA Interim Welterweight World Champion Keith "One Time" Thurman defends against dangerous Jesus "El Renuente" Soto Karass and undefeated WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Leo "Terremoto" Santa Cruz defends against Cesar Seda.

Shumenov,a personable, humble 6-foot-2, 30-year-old who has lived in Las Vegas since 2007, grew up with his father, an accountant, mother, a school teacher, and younger brother in a one-unit home when Kazakhstan was a part of Russia. His parents were business-minded and hard-working, frequently putting in 10-to-12-hour days, and were often on the road.

Shumenov nearly died when he was less than a-year-old. While under the care of his aunts, he was fed spoiled milk. Two weeks later, when his father returned Beibut was blue-faced and had to be rushed to the hospital. They could not locate a vein and had to give him IV through the head. His parents were told he would die.

He survived, but was a sickly child for years. He was unable to play sports until he was nearly six when he started taking Taekwando, karate, wrestling, Muay Thai and kickboxing. He mostly kept involved in the family's businesses. He and younger brother, Chingis, were to become attorneys. Beibut once worked as a clerk for a judge in Kazakhstan and Chingis once worked as a prosecutor and is the current Deputy Mayor of Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

After watching a Mike Tyson fight on television, Shumenov turned to boxing at the age of 13 and quickly established himself as a fighter with ability. In the amateurs, he went 180-20 pounds. There were enormous expectations for him to bring home the gold in the Olympics. He won his first fight, but broke his hand in the process and then lost his second bout.

"I broke my right hand in the fight that I won,'' Shumenov said, "But I wasn't able to punch with it and lost my second fight against the guy from Turkey. Before the Olympics, I fought the guy and won.''

The defeat demoralized Shumenov. "I quit boxing after the Olympics,'' he said. "I couldn't handle the loss. Everyone was so confident I'd win the gold medal. There was so much pressure. So after returning home in 2004 I quit to concentrate on the family businesses. Even though I suffered a broken hand, I felt I'd let so many people down, including my father, mother and country. But I always maintained my condition.''

In 2006, Shumenov returned to the ring with an eye on the 2008 Olympics, but after dominating his opposition he was urged by a former coach to turn pro, which he did at age 24 on Nov. 17, 2007.

Shumenov won his initial eight starts, suffered his lone defeat on a 12-round majority decision to defending WBA light heavyweight champion Gabriel Campillo, then reversed the result in a rematch on a controversial 12-round split decision in his tenth outing on Jan. 29, 2010.

Here's more of what the physically strong, aggressive-minded Shumenov had to say about his life, career, Golden Boy and upcoming bout against Kovacs:

On signing with Golden Boy Promotions after basically promoting all his fights with the exception of his pro debut...

"I'm very excited and really appreciate what Golden Boy is doing for me. I finally get to show the world my boxing skills and that I am the best light heavyweight in the world. Really, to get this opportunity on a big card like this, on SHOWTIME, has brought a whole new level to my training.

"I'm so thankful for Golden Boy and SHOWTIME. Since signing with Golden Boy in late September, I've felt like a weight has been lifted. I always wanted to be on a major network when I was promoting myself (he and his brother formed KZ Event Productions), but everything was coming out of my pocket. It got frustrating and very stressful for me to try and do everything and the business outside the ring. It was taking away from what I needed to do inside the ring.

"Before, I was my own manager, trainer, fighter and promoter. I'm still my own trainer but I feel very confident. I don't have to think about promoting, only the preparation for the fight. It is a great relief.''

On his goals...

"My main goal is to unify all the titles. I've always wanted to fight for world titles against other great champions. Sure, I'd fight Bernard Hopkins. I'd feel very honored."

On what this fight means to him...

"This is by far my greatest opportunity. I'm going to try to win impressively. That's how you get popular. That's what the exposure of fighting on SHOWTIME can do. This is like starting over as far as opportunity goes on this kind of platform. I want to utilize my skills. I'm comfortable. I've trained hard and enjoyed my preparation. I feel everything's going well. There's no pressure. I'm very focused.''

On this being his fifth title defense yet first fight in 18 months and only fourth since July 2010...

"The reason I've fought so little was because I only wanted big fights, and I was trying to do it on my own with no promoter. We tried a long time to make a unification with (Chad) Dawson and (Nathan) Cleverly when they were champions. I tried to reach out to their promoters. I thought I was close against Cleverly, but he disappeared on me. Dawson disappeared, too. I thought I had a unification with Juergen Braehmer when he was WBO champ but he also just disappeared.''

On what he knows about Kovacs...

"To be honest, I haven't seen many of his highlights on tape but I know he's an aggressive, come forward fighter that throws a lot of punches. I'm sure he'll try and make it exciting. But I have the style and the knowledge to fight against anyone. I'm a power puncher-boxer. I have a lot of power but l like to show my skills. I feel confident against any style. I'm excited to get back in the ring and I'm really looking forward to this fight."

On leaving the family business to return to boxing...

"Our family is very close. I'm sure I get my drive from my parents. Every business decision we make is a family decision. If my parents had their way, I wouldn't fight. They would prefer I run our family business. They're very proud of me, but I'm sure they'd rather me be involved in more business-related ventures than to be in this kind of sport. I only plan to fight a couple more years.''

"For me to get this far is an accomplishment. Kazakhstan was not an easy place to grow up. I broke my hand in the Olympics and a few other things on the streets.''

On coming to America...

"I chose to move to Las Vegas to live and train because it is the boxing capital of the world. When I first said I was coming by myself to the United States, my dad laughed. He thought I'd be here about a week and was just coming to party.

"The first English I learned came from watching movies. I watched all kinds of movies for about six months and then hired a tutor, who worked with me for two months. My favorite movie is 'The Godfather.' ''
 
Jul 24, 2005
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DIEGO DE LA HOYA: "I DON'T WANT ANY EASY FIGHTS...EVERYONE IS GOING TO KNOW THE NEW DE LA HOYA"
By Percy Crawford | December 04, 2013

"I want to fight all of the tough fighters. I don't want any easy fights. I had a long amateur career and I want that success as an amateur to carry over into the pros. I want that success as a professional too and to do that, I want to fight people with a lot of experience and that way people don't think I'm getting gift fights when I come out. It all makes me want to work harder facing guys with so many fights and that's why I love fighting guys with experience...everyone is going to know the new De La Hoya and the new person carrying the De La Hoya last name," stated up-and-coming jr. featherweight Diego De La Hoya, who talked about his upcoming return to the ring and more. Check it out!

PC: Next week, Friday the 13th actually, you will be stepping inside of the ring for the second time as a professional. How do you feel and how has camp been?

DDLH: We have been training really hard. It's going better than the last training camp. I have been working a lot with my trainer, Joel Diaz, and we have been working a lot more on my strength and we are feeling really good.

PC: With your extensive amateur background, I'm sure there were a ton of trainers wanting and willing to work with you. What made Joel Diaz the right guy for you?

DDLH: He is the Trainer of the Year. I love the way he pushes his fighters and the way he pushes me and that's what I need. I need someone to push me and get the best out of me and Joel seems to be able to do that.

PC: With the last name of De La Hoya and with the great Oscar De La Hoya not only being a relative, but your promoter, do you feel you have a target on your chest so to speak and people will be gunning for you when they see you as their opponent?

DDLH: Yeah, of course I feel like I got a target on me. Everybody that hears the last name De La Hoya knows that if they beat me, they have beaten a great last name of a legendary fighter. That's something that will stick with the fans of my opponents. They're gonna know that that's a De La Hoya and that would be on their record as a win and that helps me prepare a lot harder for my fights to avoid that.

PC: Your pro debut actually came on the Thursday night before Mayweather/Canelo. What was it like debuting on such a big event?

DDLH: Obviously I had some butterflies in my stomach because it was such a big weekend, but I felt really honored and privileged to be a part of such a big weekend of fights. Being that my opponent had 11 fights prior, I just wanted to prepare myself well and look good.

PC: You opened your career against a guy that not only had 11 fights, but who had won 8 of those 11. Is that the kind of statement you want to make as a fighter; that you are willing to step in there with guys with much more experience than you and with winning records?

DDLH: Yeah! I want to fight all of the tough fighters. I don't want any easy fights. I had a long amateur career and I want that success as an amateur to carry over into the pros. I want that success as a professional too and to do that, I want to fight people with a lot of experience and that way people don't think I'm getting gift fights when I come out. It all makes me want to work harder facing guys with so many fights and that's why I love fighting guys with experience.

PC: What can we expect to see as far as improvements from fight one to fight two?

DDLH: What I have been working on most, like I said earlier, is just my power. I want to get stronger and that's basically what I want to be able to show the people from one fight to another is that I am coming out with something new. And right now, my power is what I have really been working on for this camp and I want to show it off.

PC: How do you use the last name De La Hoya as motivation and not let it serve as pressure?

DDLH: I love having my last name. I love having that De La Hoya name on me. I definitely use it as motivation because I never want people to look down on the last name of De La Hoya. I fight hard because that's the way I train and I do it to defend this last name and I'm always gonna fight for the pride of this last name and never let my last name down.

PC: I wish you the best of luck next week. I was very impressed with your skill set in your debut. I look forward to speaking to you after the fight. Is there anything else you want to add?

DDLH: I want to thank you very much for the interview and after my next fight, everyone is going to know the new De La Hoya and the new person carrying the De La Hoya last name. I'm going to keep my last name known and make my face known!
 
Jul 24, 2005
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MIGUEL COTTO TO FACE SERGIO MARTINEZ; CANELO NEVER REALLY AN OPTION?
By Ben Thompson | December 05, 2013

Sources close to the information have informed us that thee-division world champion Miguel Cotto will indeed face middleweight king Sergio Martinez on June 7 at Madison Square Garden. Contrary to reports stating that Cotto is still deciding between lucrative offers to face either Canelo Alvarez in March or Sergio Martinez in June, our sources tell us that the decision was already made long ago.

"Cotto is fighting Martinez. Canelo was never even up for discussion," one source commented. Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer recently stated that he would still give Cotto "another week" to come to a decision, however, another source tells us that Cotto was simply entertaining the idea of fighting Canelo in order to drive up his guarantee for the Martinez bout. Regardless of how the decision came about, our sources agree that Cotto's next opponent will indeed be Martinez.
 
Props: CZAR and CZAR
Jul 24, 2005
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HAS THE TAXMAN COMETH FOR MANNY PACQUIAO IN THE UNITED STATES AS WELL?
By Ben Thompson | December 05, 2013

It appears that Manny Pacquiao's tax issues in the Phillippines may be getting him more attention than he wants. Sources close to the information have informed us that the Internal Revenue Service [IRS] recently placed a levy on bank accounts in Manny Pacquiao's name here in the United States. According to one source, the amount of the levy is upwards of $18.5 million. When contacted for a statement on the issue, a representative from the IRS media relations office simply replied, "Under the federal tax law, federal employees cannot disclose tax return information."

This latest news only adds to the growing financial turmoil that the 8-division world champion is currently dealing with. Immediately after his dominant unanimous decision victory over Brandon Rios, Pacquiao's bank accounts in the Philippines were frozen when the Bureau of Internal Revenue revealed that he owed 2.2 billion pesos [roughly $50 million] for unpaid taxes in 2008 and 2009. It's a claim that Pacquiao, as well as his promoter Bob Arum, vehemently deny, insisting that taxes were indeed paid in the United States during that time period. According to BIR commissioner Kim Henares, however, the Sarangani congressman has yet to provide sufficient documentation that proves his case.

According to reports, of the 22 banks that the BIR contacted, only 2 of them held deposits for Pacquiao, which totaled 1.1 million pesos [$25,200]. In addition to freezing his bank accounts, the BIR also placed a lien on Pacquiao's $9 million mansion in the Philippines' upscale residential community of Forbes Park. Four months ago, it was revealed that Pacquiao was selling his $2.7 million home in Los Angeles, which he purchased in 2009 shortly after knocking out Ricky Hatton. As of this writing, the house is still up for sale. According to another source, Pacquiao also recently sold his $220K Ferrari Italia 458, which he purchased in 2011 prior to his third encounter with Juan Manuel Marquez.
 
May 13, 2002
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If the IRS is involved Manny is in trouble. Big trouble. They don't play. Ask Wesley Snipes!

So I wonder if thats why Michael Koncz had a heart attack in Macau recently. He's in charge of Pac's financing or whatever. Did he know the shit was about to hit the fan? He's a snake, i always knew that guy was shady as fuck. Poor Manny. If all this stuff is true he needs to fire everyone.
 
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Props: CZAR and CZAR

Tony

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Arum told Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated that the pay-per-view buyrate was between 500,000 to 550,000. Schaefer, however, told BoxingScene that he was told by sources in the pay-per-view industry that Pacquiao-Rios generated between 300,000 and 350,000.

Wow!! Ever since Pacquiao got put to sleep his PPV drawing power has taken a serious dip. Bad business.... should have listened to Floyd about this being a business first, now we see why. From 1 million to 400,000 is a huge drop off....
 
May 13, 2002
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It shouldn't be that surprising as he was KTFO, out for a year and fighting Brandon Rios.

If Pacquiao fights a credible opponent with a name, he'll be back over a million buys next I reckon. But Rios in China not a lot of hype going into it, makes sense.

Thats why I said when this fight was announced it should have been on regular HBO similar to how Oscar de la hoya fought Stevie Forbes on regular HBO after losing to Mayweather on PPV. It's natural to lose some appeal after losing, as the saying goes You're only as good as your last fight.