Richard “Sugar” Schaefer - It’s time he got a nickname.

"Don't be cheeky, Floyd"

Richard Schaefer was at the centre of a smidgen of controversy at the Los Angeles presser for Mayweather vs Canelo last week; Mayweather’s fault of course. Floyd excessively praised Schaefer, excessively ignored Oscar, implied that Schaefer effectively ran Goldenboy and indirectly said that Oscar De La Hoya was a poopy pants who couldn’t come to his birthday party.

It was exciting and awkward to witness – a little bit of office niggle always is. I don’t know what the technical term for Oscar and Floyd’s business arrangement is but put it this way, wouldn’t it be awesome to tell Clive in accounting that he was a twat? Floyd played favourites but Richard Schaefer defused the agro. How did he do it? Pretty simple. He laughed it off and focused on the positives. Then “Sugar” Schaefer hopped off the stage to make himself available for the press and gave me some ruddy good copy.

"I'm Sugar Schaefer and I make shweet deelsh!"

Schaefer is Swiss and therefore really bright. Switzerland is not all army knives wartime neutrality and cratered cheeses; they have a sensational educational system where everyone ends up tri-lingual and well dressed. Schaefer is no different. We chatted in French because I wanted to show off and then he answered my questions (in English) directly and enthusiastically. Schaefer has brought a level of professionalism to boxing promoting the fruits of which we will enjoy on September 14^th.  A good businessman finds ways to make deals that make sense for everyone and creates an environment where further business can be done; or they completely eviscerate the competition. “Sugar” Schaefer is doing both.

Al Haymon: bagged himself some good fighters. 

The deals he most often makes are with Al Haymon. The mysterious, invisible Thomas Pyncheon of boxing. While their relationship has so far not directly violated United States anti-trust laws, it has been regarded as an existential threat to the future of boxing. One promoter, one manager neither wanting to jeopardise their prize assets = shitty uncompetitive boring fights. However, Haymon now represents so many fighters that it is becoming mathematically impossible for his fighters to avoid each other! Case in point Matthysse vs Danny Garcia of which Schaefer says: “I know fight fans want this fight and I will get it done.” Maybe a monopoly will work. Damn it – if Pacquiao was a Haymon/Goldenboy fighter, you have to admit that he would currently be more likely to face Floyd than not.

I asked Schaefer how he would describe Haymon’s negotiating style. He smiled then began to visibly perspire.  “Whoah…tough guy…once you have a fight, you think …here we go again. He’s a very very tough negotiator and I think that’s one of the reasons why Floyd Mayweather is the highest paid athlete in the world.  That’s why, at the end of the fight, all the fighters who are managed by Al Haymon, first they thank Al Haymon and then they thank God.”

A more successful road map for peace. 

It’s safe to say that Goldenboy is unequivocally the number 1 promoter right now. When asked about how it felt to have overtaken Top Rank Schaefer said: “Pretty good! I don’t want to blow our own horn, we used to be even (with Top Rank) but the difference is getting bigger and bigger. I think the difference is, like Floyd says hard work and dedication and treating the fighters right, compensating them right and building relationships.” What about doing business with TR again? Is there a road map for peace? “There is no road map. I tried it too many times and I am sick and tried of it. I don’t want to deal with them anymore. (very pregnant pause.) They’re a sinking ship!”

The conversation turned to Peter Quillin but “Sugar” Schaefer was clearly still fired up. “Peter Quillin? We are currently looking at 2 possible opponents. I don’t want to disclose the names because if I do Bob Arum is going to want to get them as well. Unfortunately, we are living in a world now where there is one guy over there who is just happy fucking things up which I’m trying to put together so I really can’t talk as freely anymore as I would like.”

Schaefer is a businessman. He doesn’t seem at all afraid of Top Rank or any competition – he just wants things to run…dare I say… like a Swiss watch? He wants to instil a functional and constructive environment where he can do business. “Constructive” and “functional” are not words most fans would associate with a sport whose match-making can seem as arbitrary as its scorecards but even when describing Floyd’s marketability Schaefer assessed Mayweather with the kind of candour such an environment permits. “Floyd Mayweather has a lot of fans but he has that other pool of people who just can’t stand him.”  He broke down his customers for The One into three groups:

Switzerland. Yep. Limited material on Switzerland. 

1. “Mayweather fans particularly in the urban market.”  - Black people.

2. “Those who dislike him many of those in the Anglo market”  - White people.

3. “ The Mexican and Latino fan-base who are putting all their hopes on Canelo to be the one to beat Floyd Mayweather.” – Mexicans.

Schaefer is not race baiting, he is stating the obvious. He has earmarked the people who may buy this fight, why they’ll buy it and he will go after them in a determined, efficient and professional manner that will put plenty of Sugar in his Swiss bank account. I am officially out of Switzerland metaphors.