CHARMING CORRESPONDENCE

By Michael Swann

If you missed it this week, many sites, including this one, published a vitriolic press release entitled, “An Open Letter from Nate Campbell to Richard Schaeffer.” Campbell, the talented, new IBF/ WBO/ WBA lightweight champion is identified as the author. (Click here)

After reading the letter I was doubtful that Campbell wrote it himself. There were many references to promotional matters and the prose bore little resemblance to Campbell’s verbal interview on Boxing Talk, to say the least.

Campbell is promoted by Don King with Terry Trekas as co-promoter. My sources tell me that Trekas penned “Open Letter,” although Nate may have contributed the fury behind it.

It’s not at all unusual for a publicist or a promoter to use this method to get their message out. I’ve read brilliantly scripted comments from fighters who don’t even speak English. So the fact that Campbell’s piece may have been ghost-written is inconsequential.

Apparently this war of words began when Boxing Talk interviewed Schaeffer. In his Q&A he indicated that Golden Boy offered Joel Casamayor a fight with Juan Diaz on September 13, and he had spoken to Don King about a co-promotion of a Campbell-Juan Manuel Marquez contest with a 50-50 split.

Campbell had wanted Casamayor who is his mandatory as the WBO “Interim Champion.” Of course you just never know with these scamps at the WBO. They have a titlist, an interim title holder, a # 1 contender, Anthony Peterson, and a #2 contender, Amir Khan, who just won a WBO title eliminator. Good grief!

But, according to his Boxing Talk interview he was also insulted that Juan Diaz, whom he just defeated for the three belts, has that September 13 date already penciled in with HBO, while he sits on the sidelines. He said that if he had been offered Marquez before the September date, he would have taken it.

In the open letter, Campbell/Trekas claims that Golden Boy is attempting to monopolize boxing with the “Golden Boy Belt,” also known as the Ring Magazine title. Golden Boy owns Ring, and the author claims that they are trying to devalue the sanctioning bodies, and “want to be Dana White and control everything within your own little world.”

Actually that assertion is without merit. I’ve written that Casamayor has taken more than a few liberties with the Ring Magazine policy that a champion has to lose the title in the ring. By either inactivity or his failure to fight the best contenders available, Casamayor is guilty in my mind of extending his reign as the Ring champ.

The same could probably have been said of Bernard Hopkins, to a slightly lesser degree, prior to his recent loss to Joe Calzaghe.

Nevertheless, they are isolated examples. No one can legitimately poke holes in the integrity of the Ring’s editorial and championship policy. When it comes to ethics, there can be no more trusted man than Nigel Collins.

On the other hand, everyone scrutinizes the magazine from cover to cover in search of a slip. I had a reader write me to complain that Oscar was on the cover of the latest issue, despite the fact that the story was titled “Exit Strategy” and was about his three step plan to leave the game. Then the guy drew 27,000 to face limited opposition last week in step one.

I’ve seen no evidence that Golden Boy is attempting to devalue the sanctioning bodies. As far as I can see, they’re just like any other promoter, trumpeting what will best sell the fight. If it means mentioning a Ring title and leaving out a sanctioning body, they do it. And if they cover the canvas and their fighter’s trunks with Ring advertising, they have paid for the privilege.

Names such as Haye, Calzaghe, Pavlik, Mayweather, Hatton, Vazquez, and Calderon are listed as Ring champions. In every case, you’d be hard pressed to dispute their credentials. There is no Golden Boy belt. That part is bunk.

Another point of the “Open Letter” seemed unfair to me. Schaeffer is a businessman, and a brilliant one at that according to most, even his enemies. And to say that he is “just some suit that by chance happened to marry in Oscar’s family,” is factually incorrect.

Actually Schaeffer married his wife Lilia in 1994 and Richard met Oscar in 1995, through Raul Jaimes, Lilia’s nephew and longtime De La Hoya friend who is now the Vice President of Boxing Operations for Golden Boy.

Schaeffer, with an education in banking, came to Los Angeles in 1988 to work for what is now UBS, the largest bank in Switzerland. He was named Deputy CEO of Banking Operations in the U.S. in 1997.

In the midst of this incredibly successful banking career, Schaeffer decided on taking a calculated gamble with Golden Boy after being approached by De La Hoya to build a business for him. There were no family ties, so you’ll have to look elsewhere for a reason to criticize him.

Meaning no disrespect to Oscar, but Schaeffer built Golden Boy and remains the key figure in the operation.

“Campbell” writes that Golden Boy is not a promoter of fights, just a broker begging for HBO dates and site fees. He says that he has “a REAL promoter, one who doesn’t just close up shop because no TV dates happen to be available. As soon as this WBO mess is cleared up I’ll be fighting SOMEBODY. If you want that somebody to be Marquez, then give Don a number, get out of the way, and let a REAL promoter do the fight in July-August.”

One point here-- HBO will not tell Oscar De La Hoya or his CEO Richard Schaeffer to get out of the way. Do they get favorable treatment? Yes.

I don’t have a horse in the race here, but it seems as if a Campbell-Marquez matchup would be an attractive fight. But truthfully, I’d prefer to put this Casamayor thing to rest because until he gets beaten, every fight announcer in the free world is going to refer to him as the champion.

For that reason my preference would be for Nate to face Casamayor on September 13, and point Diaz in another direction, maybe toward Marquez. Whoever emerges victorious will be able to claim the Ring title and three belts and would certainly be the best lightweight in the world.

There might another small factor involved here. Marquez is a long time great and a Mexican hero, and would be deserving of the 50-50 split. Casamayor, regardless of his Ring title status would likely have to settle for less, making him a more appealing prospect to Campbell but less appealing for Casamayor, who at this point is beyond getting excited over being a mandatory.