In a move that could be considered a big "F You" to promoter 50 Cent, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer has flexed his promotional muscle by securing a November 17th date on Showtime for what is being described as a "signficant event". According to Rick Reeno of Boxingscene.com, a source advised him that Golden Boy Promotions recently put a hold on the November 17th Showtime date. The news comes just days after it was revealed that 50 Cent was in talks with Showtime about staging he and Floyd Mayweather's first TMT Promotions event, a championship doubleheader featuring former featherweight champion Yuriorkis Gamboa and top super middleweight contender Andre Dirrell, on that date.
According to Reeno's source, Golden Boy is already planning a significant event for Showtime on that date. Of course, it will be interesting to see just how "significant" that event turns out to be, however, as the majority of Golden Boy's top fighters already have bouts scheduled in and around that date. In fact, with Canelo Alvarez, Marcos Maidana, Devon Alexander and Lucas Matthysse fighting in September, Adrien Broner, Danny Garcia, Abner Mares and Paulie Malignaggi fighting in October, and Amir Khan expected to make his return to the ring in December, the only big-name Golden Boy fighter that doesn't already have something scheduled is former light heavyweight king Bernard Hopkins, who is coming off a majority decision loss to Chad Dawson this past April.
The news of Schaefer securing the November 17th date also comes on the heals of attorney Sekou Gary filing a lawsuit against Golden Boy Promotions on behalf of jr. middleweight contender James Kirkland, who is reportedly unhappy about his current contractual situation with the promotional company. When asked about the lawsuit, Schaefer was quick to tell Lem Satterfield of RingTV.com that he recognized Gary as the same attorney that represented Yuriorkis Gamboa, who was recently signed by TMT Promotions, in his settlement with Top Rank. "I can't really comment on that. But isn't that the same attorney who represented Gamboa? If so, then he must be 50 Cent's attorney. So I'll be looking into it," Schaefer commented on Sunday. Just two days later, he now has a hold on Showtime's November 17th date.
Coincidence? Maybe, but keep in mind that Stephen Espinoza, executive vice president and general manager of Showtime Sports, was the lead attorney for Golden Boy Promotions prior to securing his new gig. Truth be told, the inside joke in boxing circles is that it's really Schaefer, not Espinoza, who runs boxing on Showtime. According to our own sources, Espinoza was indeed having lengthy discussions with 50 Cent about the possibility of staging the first TMT Promotions event on the November 17th Showtime date. In fact, from what I'm told, the deal was nearly finalized yesterday. Shortly after Schaefer's comments regarding Kirkland's lawsuit, however, those talks have either changed dramatically or stopped altogether. Either way, the move by Schaefer and Golden Boy Promotions sends a strong message to both 50 Cent and Floyd Mayweather regarding their plans for TMT Promotions. It will be extremely interesting to see how this all plays out.
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