‘Solo Boxeo’ returns, under Golden Boy banner
Late in 2008, when Spanish-language network Telefutura canceled “Solo Boxeo,” its long-running Friday night boxing series, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer admitted the move depressed him.
The series had been an important outlet for Golden Boy, which had about 18 dates annually on the weekly show. But the show, one of the network’s highest rated programs, was axed mainly because of its cost in a tanking economy.
But now it’s back.
“Solo Boxeo Tecate” will return to the airwaves on April 30 with Golden Boy exclusively promoting the weekly Friday night cards, Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya said Monday.
“Bigger, badder and better,” De La Hoya told ESPN.com. “This has been lot of work and a long process, but we’re back. I really have to thank Tecate for really sticking by us and really being a partner. We finally made it happen. We brought in the sponsors necessary to get boxing back on Telefutura. It was a long, hard road.”
De La Hoya said the April 30 card will take place at a venue to be determined in Las Vegas, where Golden Boy will promote the major pay-per-view fight between Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the MGM Grand the following night.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy’s matchmaker, told ESPN.com that former featherweight and junior lightweight titlist Roberto Guerrero will likely headline the opener.
Guerrero recently gave up his 130-pound title and withdrew from a March 27 HBO fight against Michael Katsidis because his wife, Casey, was seriously ill battling leukemia.
“We want to start off with a bang,” Gomez said. “Robert’s wife is doing a lot better recently, so it most likely will be him. He’s interested and he wants to get back in the ring. It’s just a matter of him giving us the final go-ahead. We’re finalizing all the details. We’ll have all of our young kids on the show, but we will also try to get some of the bigger names going too. This is going to be fun. It’s once a week and exclusive to Golden Boy Promotions.”
The new incarnation will continue to air on Fridays, but it’s moving to a 90-minute format beginning at 11:30 p.m. ET.
“Solo Boxeo” debuted in August 2000 as a one-hour Sunday afternoon show on Univision with fights promoted exclusively by Top Rank. Then it was shifted to newly created sister network Telefutura in 2002 and into a two-hour, prime time Friday night slot. Eventually, Golden Boy and Don Chargin also got a handful of dates.
Among the fighters Golden Boy said would appear on the show are prospects Frankie Gomez (the amateur star whose signing with Golden Boy was formally announced Monday), Danny Garcia, Charles Huerta, Lucas Matthysse, Carlos Molina, Luis Ramos, Ronny Rios and Carlos Velasquez.
“‘Solo Boxeo Tecate’ has been a great launching pad for Hispanic fighters and is where many have begun their careers,” De La Hoya said. “We are very excited to once again have such a wonderful stage to showcase our top contenders and up-and-coming prospects.”
“We are thrilled to have ‘Solo Boxeo Tecate’ back on Telefutura as part of our exciting sports programming lineup,” Bert Medina, senior vice president and operating manager for Telefutura, said in a statement. “Golden Boy Promotions is a leading promotional player in the boxing industry and we are proud to be partnering with them to provide an exceptional sporting franchise to our viewers.”
De La Hoya said that Golden Boy would probably handle the production of the telecasts. In its original incarnation, Telefutura handled production. De La Hoya said it had not been determined who the announcers would be, but he said that Telefutura was paying a weekly rights fee to air the show, although he didn’t disclose the amount. Previously, Telefutura paid about $65,000 a week in rights fees.
The new show gives Golden Boy a second regular television series. It also produces and promotes the monthly Thursday night “Fight Night Club” cards on Fox Sports Net from Club Nokia in Los Angeles.
During its original 2002 to 2008 run, “Solo Boxeo” gave numerous Hispanic fighters exposure on their way to greater stardom, including Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito, Juan Manuel Marquez, Rafael Marquez, Juan Diaz and Kermit Cintron. Even some non-Hispanic fighters were featured, including Kelly Pavlik, before he won the middleweight championship.
Dan Rafael is ESPN.com’s boxing writer.
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‘Solo Boxeo’ returns, under Golden Boy banner
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