Last week, prior to the beginning of an international conference call, publicist Kelly Swanson referred to Floyd Mayweather Jr. as "the greatest fighter in boxing today." Shortly afterwards, Richard Schaefer joined the conversation and quickly corrected her, stating, "Kelly, not of today; the greatest of all time!" Sounding extremely jovial, the CEO of Golden Boy Promotions was eager to discuss a number of milestones that the Mayweather vs. Mosley promotion has achieved.
"We have a week to go and I have to say, this is, as I just predicted, shaping up as the most heavily promoted fight of all time. We are for the first time utilizing all available new media and all media platforms and generating a pre-fight buzz, which I frankly have never seen before," he bragged as he discussed the growing buzz leading up to the event. "This fight is not just getting coverage in the boxing and sports media, but it has captured the interest of the financial and the entertainment press here in the United States, but frankly around the world. The general public is embracing this fight as what it is, truly one of the all time greatest showdowns between two of the best athletes of our time."
If everything that Schaefer says is true, one can understand his excitement when discussing the bout. Ticket brokers have confirmed that demand for the fight has been high, with the event approaching a near sell-out. If the current demand is any indication, Schaefer is confident that on May 1st, Golden Boy Promtions will be involved in another record-setting event. "I am convinced that we are on track to break the all-time pay-per-view record," he reiterated. "By the way Floyd, I was really impressed with Cash Flo. That kid is going to be very special, just like you are."
It's clear that Schaefer is extremely pleased with the numbers he's seeing thus far. Whether or not Floyd Mayweather truly is the greatest boxer of all time remains to be seen, however, if Richard Schaefer is correct in his financial prediction for the bout, Floyd Mayweather very well could turn out to be the greatest of all time when it comes to generating revenue. He still has a little ways to go before he can catch Oscar De La Hoya, but until Golden Boy Promotions can find their own new star to fill the void that De La Hoya has left in his retirement, expect Schaefer's man-crush on Floyd Mayweather to continue.