According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Golden Boy Promotions settled their lawsuit with former CEO Richard Schaefer.
As part of the settlement, Schaefer, whom Golden Boy claimed was still under an employment contract through March 2018, will be barred from promoting for an unspecified length of time, according to one of the sources. It is between one and two years, according to the source.
The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not permitted to speak publicly due to the terms of the settlement.
Schaefer also owns about 8 percent of Golden Boy stock and it would be likely that he would have to give that up as part of any settlement.
In addition to settling with Schaefer, the sources also said that De La Hoya severed ties with most of the Haymon fighters that Golden Boy had been promoting on a fight-by-fight basis in return for what one of the sources said was “substantial financial compensation” from Haymon.
“Oscar is still looking forward to the fight next week,” one of the sources said. “Yes, Golden Boy is losing some top fighters as part of this, no doubt about it. That is hard, but this is a long-term plan. Oscar is happy and comfortable with the decision, and this is the next step. He could have continued to go on like this and continued to work with Haymon but that doesn’t benefit anyone if there is no long-term plan.
“With this decision, there is a very good feeling around the office. Golden Boy still has some horses and will just do what it has proven it can do, which is to develop the younger guys it promotes.”
The sources said Golden Boy will continue to promote a handful of fighters aligned with Haymon, who still have promotional contracts with the company, including Amir Khan, Leo Santa Cruz, Lucas Matthysse and Paulie Malignaggi.
“Oscar has deals with a number of Haymon’s fighters and those will continue,” one of the sources said. “The idea is they finish their contracts and then they go somewhere else.”
“It’s no way to do business. We were totally hamstrung,” one of the sources said. “Every time there was a fight Oscar wanted to make the question was would Haymon’s guy fight him? That’s how you end up with Rod Salka [as the opponent for Garcia in one of 2014’s most egregious mismatches] and the weak guys Leo Santa Cruz has fought. We couldn’t make the fights we wanted to. What’s the point of having fighters in the stable if they don’t fight anyone?
“Oscar has been clear as a bell with what he wants to do. He wants to make the best fights possible for the fans. He has said it time and again and he means it. Oscar came to the conclusion that he couldn’t make the fights he wanted to make by continuing to do business like this. There was so much drama surrounding everything. Everyone at Golden Boy had to operate in a box. Now everyone is free.”
