Schaefer is also close to Mayweather's powerful adviser Al Haymon, whose A-client list is vast. Schaefer was also the one person at Golden Boy with a close, personal friendship with pound-for-pound and pay-per-view king Floyd Mayweather Jr., who used Golden Boy to promote all of his fights since 2007.
Schaefer was the point person in multiple record-breaking promotions, developed close relationships with HBO and later Showtime, closed an output deal for a boxing television series on Fox Sports 1, worked with numerous mainstream sponsors and made a deal to serve as the exclusive promoter of fights at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, while also maintaining a close relationship with the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Under Schaefer's guidance, Golden Boy became a powerhouse. With no background in boxing, Schaefer, who handled Golden Boy's day-to-day business - De La Hoya has been mostly a figurehead but recently vowed to take a more active role in the company - built Golden Boy into the most significant promoter in boxing.
I am proud of what we have accomplished at Golden Boy, but I now look forward to new challenges." "I am proud to remain a shareholder, so I have a strong interest in the continued success of the company. I have succeeded in banking and I have succeeded in boxing, and I look forward to the next opportunity.
"This decision has required a great deal of personal reflection, but ultimately I concluded that I have no choice but to leave. "After more than 10 years with Golden Boy, it is time to move on to the next chapter of my career," Schaefer said in a statement. Schaefer's exit from the company was not unexpected, given the public issues between Schaefer and De La Hoya over the past few months, but the timing was a bit surprising - a few days before De La Hoya's induction on Sunday into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Richard Schaefer, the former Swiss banker who co-founded Golden Boy Promotions with close friend Oscar De La Hoya in 2002 and has served as its only chief executive officer, resigned on Monday, effective immediately, in a move that figures to dramatically alter the landscape of the boxing business.