KELLY SWANSON : Thank you operator and thanks everybody for joining us for the last call in our series for the World Awaits. I personally would like to report that the countdown clock which most of you have seen if not live then in a photograph. It now reads 10 days, seven hours and 54 minutes, and probably about 50 seconds onto the 54 minutes.
So personally I just would like to take the opportunity to thank everybody for participating in this great promotion. We're looking forward to seeing everybody fight week. And at this time I would like to turn it over to Richard Schaefer, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Boy Promotions, Richard.
RICHARD SCHAFER, CHIEF EXEUTIVE OFFICER, GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS, INC .: Thank you Kelly and thank you to all of PR team. I think these weekly conference calls were terrific. They were attended cumulative by over 700 media members from different parts of the world. I think it was a big success in itself to give you weekly updates.
Welcome everybody the World Awaits. The clock is ticking De La Hoya versus Mayweather. Ten days to go, it's going to be great, and a great fight week ahead. Every day something different is planned, a lot of activities, a lot of things going on.
Just a quick update on the odds, I talked this morning with the MGM odd makers and book maker and the fact is that the fight is getting tighter and tighter, closer and closer. A lot of people are picking Oscar now and we are like a one and a half round favorite.
It opened at two and a quarter to one back in February so it's getting tighter and tighter, closed circuit sales are going through the roof setting new records everywhere throughout the United States, in Las Vegas. So everything is set, the stage is set for a great, great fight. A great promotion and I want to thank you all for your support and I look forward to welcoming you all next week in Las Vegas.
It is a pleasure for me now to introduce to you a fighter who really has become the face of boxing. He's a ten time world champion, in six different weight classes. Nobody else has ever accomplished that. And it is a pleasure for me to turn it over to my friend Oscar De La Hoya.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA, PRESIDENT, GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS, INC.: Thanks Richard I appreciate it very much. Everyone who is on the call thank you for being on and it's what ten days a way and I'm excited. I'm ready to go, I can't wait. I've been training as hard as I can, as smart as I can and we strongly feel that yes it's going to be a good fight. It's going to be a great fight, but we're ready for anything.
And truly I think this fight here aside from all of the other fights had or other events I've been involved with, this one here, I'm just anxious. I just can't wait to get inside that ring and to let that bell ring. I just can't wait to run over to his corner and just starting fighting. I mean that's, I can feel it now, I dream about it every night.
So it's actually fun. I'm enjoying this training temp; I'm enjoying this whole event. So I'm making it worth my while. So it's definitely going to be a big fight.
KELLY SWANSON : OK, great thank you Oscar. Operator, if now we could open it up for questions.
DAN RAFAEL, ESPN : Thank you. Hello Oscar how are you today?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Hey Dan, good.
DAN RAFAEL: Oscar can you, you just mentioned before you're excited about this fight, being involved so many other big fights and big events and promotions in your career. Can you say that this in your mind is definitely the biggest one or is there another fight that may be in the same time frame ten days before the fight where you had a sense of something even, that it was bigger at that time?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: No, this by far has to be the biggest. Just being involved with the whole promotion obviously because we're promoting it, it just feels and it seems that much bigger than any other fight I've been involved with. Leading up to the events, just with all the interviews I've been doing and photo shoots of various magazines.
And people wanting to go to the fight, celebrities and it just feels really big. And so when I was involved with the Trinidad fight we didn't have this, we didn't have all this. We didn't, I mean, we didn't have national sponsors or putting our, the fight prints on cans. Or we just didn't have all that stuff, so it's really exciting, this is what it's all about.
DAN RAFAEL: Oscar let me ask you one more question. Put your business hat on for a second and take off your fighter's hat for a minute and just can you talk a little bit about your own personal satisfaction of being involved on the promotional end what everybody probably thinks will end up being the greatest revenue fight in the history of boxing.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Well this is the way boxing should be promoted. If Golden Boy Promotions was promoting the Trinidad fight with me, we would have easily done more than two million homes. If other big events were promoted through Golden Boy we would have gone through the roof.
And it really is it just feels different with working with my staff and working with the other staff in the past. It's just whole different feeling and we just bring something new and fresh to the table. With sponsorships it's just a whole different promotion and I'm just really, really proud of our team.
Golden Boy Promotions who really has been doing all the work in the behind the scenes, putting the press together and making sure everything is running smooth. From Richard Schaefer who, I mean, I kind of, it's hard to explain the gratitude I have. What he brings to the table. I've never ever in my life worked with another individual like Richard Schaefer. It really is amazing.
KEVIN IOLE, LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL : If you could choose one or the other, would you prefer to have the wisdom that you've acquired of 15 years as a professional fighter or say the athletic ability and the energy that you had when you first were starting out?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : I think probably the wisdom, the wisdom of the, of all these years that I have accumulated. Because the, my body, right now, I feel like if I was 25 again. And so it's a matter or doing the right training and preparing yourself. But the wisdom that I have accumulated over the years, I mean, that's priceless.
KEVIN IOLE : Do you think the Oscar De La Hoya of 1997 could beat the Oscar De La Hoya of 2007?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Well I think the Oscar De La Hoya of 2007 can beat the Oscar De La Hoya of 1997.
STEVE CARP, LAS VEGAS REVIEW JOURNAL: I just wanted to follow kind of up on what Dan was asking you about. You've been in these mega fights before whether it was with Vargas or Trinidad or Chavez. What have you learned over the years in terms of promoting those fights that help make this promotion what it's been?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Well you know what I have learned Steve is that those fights that I was involved with, the Chavez's, the Whitaker's, all those fights, they easily should have surpassed the million mark easy. Without a doubt, because the way we're promoting, the ways we're letting the world know that hey there's a fight.
I mean, this is, we're promoting like no other promoter has ever promoted. And we're bringing in something new to the table with sponsors and it's, the synergies that are, they're just amazing with the Tecate Beer and the Casa Dorez (ph) bringing in Southwest Airlines and Dr. Pepper, I mean, it's incredible.
I mean everybody knows about this fight. So it's just been, and it's team effort. I mean it's a team effort and obviously with having Richard Schaefer, the mastermind it's a pleasure.
STEVE CARP : The one thing I wanted to follow up with. Was this fight more than any of your others has new media opportunities whether it's on the Internet or through this reality thing that HBO's been doing with the two camps, how much do you think that really puts this over the top when you didn't have those opportunities in past.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Right, obviously any media adds to the excitement and adds to the, it brings attention; it draws attention to any event. But what really sets it apart is what our sponsors are doing to take the fight out there to the public.
I mean, Tecate Beer putting our, putting the fight image on their cans. On every can out there that people drink and then every store you go in, you'll be able to see the fight imprint on the can. And what Casa Dorez (ph) is doing and Dr. Pepper and Southwest Airlines, I mean, that's those are new fans that really haven't been introduced to boxing. So and obviously with HBO, what they're doing with the 24/7 show, I mean, that's just priceless.
CHUCK JOHNSON, USA TODAY : Yes, it's been said that this fight is the type of event that boxing needs to really give it a boost and start things towards the road of prosperity. Is that too much to expect from this fight? Or can you tell me that is, it isn't.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : No it isn't. I mean, this is, that's what it's going to do. Our lives will be on the boxing world inside that ring and the only thing we have to do is perform. And perform as hard as we can. I keep on saying this, in my end I'm going to perform as hard as I can. I'm going to fight as hard as I can, because now it's up to us.
Everything else outside the ring, to take the fight to the public and to make sure the public knows about this fight is done. Everybody knows about this fight and so now it's up to us to perform.
CHUCK JOHNSON : Can either you or Richard tell me what is the advertising budget for this fight? I mean, I see the advertisements everywhere. Is there any advertising budget, a figure there?
RICHARD SCHAEFER : Well actually the interesting thing is, you have obviously a certain amount which spent through the promotion, but then as Oscar just said, with these sponsors which we are able to bring to the table, it's real easy to see 160 degree, fully integrated sponsorship package where these people are, these sponsors are not just paying to put their logo on the ring and the banner above the truss (ph).
But they are converting tens of millions, and I mean tens of millions of dollars in their, from their own advertising, all of these, these are national companies which have tremendous advertising budgets on the radio, print, TV, billboards and they are converting some of these dollars to promote the fight. So if I would have to add the value of these sponsors up, you're talking in excess of $50 million.
LANCE PUGMIRE, LOS ANGELES TIMES: Good, good. Hey I was wanting to know every, a lot of the stories that have taken place on boxing cards before this one has talked about how boxing is slumping. Now obviously with this fight, you've got a lot of momentum. How does boxing the sport capitalize on that momentum and keep it going and keep the attention that's going to be on this fight there on the sport?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Well we, for instance, HBO brought in this new series 24/7. It would be wonderful if HBO can do that for every major fight. I mean it would be great for the sport; it would great for the event. But I think it boils down to fighters fighting each other. The best fighting the best, that's what it boils down to.
And I think what this fight is going to do, when all those fighters out there are watching this event. They're going to say, you know what, I want to be there. Let me fight the best. And it's not only going to attract fans, it's not only going to attract the attention to the boxing world.
But it's going to make the fighters say, hey, I want to be involved in these big fights. And I think that's how you are going to create that momentum, fighters fighting each other and one big event after the other.
LANCE PUGMIRE : It's also about promoters though isn't it as well and making sure that the promoters can work together and?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Absolutely, I mean, that's exactly what we've been talking about within Golden Boy Promotions is promoters working with, together, with each other. I mean that's what we have to do. We have to get together and make these fights happen.
RICHARD SCHAEFER : And Lance, if I may add as well. I'm getting really sick and tired about all these people writing and talking about the sport of boxing is dying. It's really is a handful of promoters and we know who they are. They keep pissing on the sport. And they keep going the sport is dying, the sport is dying, the sport is dying, and that this is wrong.
The sport is not dying, look at these numbers world wide where people are going tens of thousands of people into venues to watch this sport. The ratings HBO is bringing with these kinds of events, it's unparalleled so it's really not dying.
It is these certain promoters which keep being negative about the sport because their basically being, they don't have the talent, they don't have event. And it's a matter of being jealous. They're throwing out all of these negative vibes and that has got to stop. These promoters if they think the sport is dying, they should stop promoting, go and retire.
RICHARD SANDOMIR, NEW YORK TIMES : This can be for both of you guys. If those other fights that you had in the past Oscar should have gotten much higher pay-for-view numbers, what then is the fundamental flaw of the other promoters out there that they haven't been able to do all the things that you guys have done for this fight promotionally.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Alright, in my part I think it would have to be attracting the sponsors. I mean, obviously the sponsors that we're attracting now it's because of what we represent. What our company represents.
We're a legitimate company. We're a company that is respected in the boxing industry and the word is spreading. And that's why we are attracting so many sponsors. And I think that's been the difference.
RICHARD SANDOMIR : And Richard what are the others doing wrong?
RICHARD SCHAEFER : Well I think it's a combination. I think the sponsors are very important, fully integrated. With this fight here we have close to a billion, a billion consumer impression. I mean, that's unheard of. And the only way you can do it is with the support of these sponsors.
But the other part is as well the positioning of the fight. I think you saw that what we did with De La Hoya, Mayorga or with Danger Zone. I mean that was in my opinion a perfectly executed promotion. And what we are doing as well is we are its non ego driven promotion. It's about the fight, about the fight that's giving them exposure.
You don't see the promoters out there parading around and I give you an example. Like when Oscar fought Felix Sturm, which was for the sixth weight class. The only fighter ever to become a world champion in a sixth weight class. And the second fighter of that card was Bernard Hopkins going for a nineteenth title defense of his undisputed middle weight championship.
Both guys on the same night, both guys on the same night and the fight is a little over 300,000 homes. I mean, that is in my opinion one of the worst promoted events in the history of boxing, to do that kind of homes. So it's really has to do with the excitement the promoter brings to the table.
The kind of exposure he brings to the fight. The kind of sponsors you attract and it really is not just putting a logo on the ring mat and see you later.
ROBERT MORALES, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS : Oscar can you talk, can you explain the difference in your current frame of mind, thanks to all of Mayweather's trash talk versus the frame of mind you might have been in had Mayweather shown you some respect during the press tour.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Oh, it's night and day. Night and day, I mean, he ask for it and he's going to get it. When I go to the gym, I train hard anyways for any fighter. It's just my work ethic is very professional. But when a fighter just talks that little trash, for some reason it just sparks something in me. It takes me to a whole new level. It really makes me a student of the game. I want to learn, I want to run more. I want to run extra miles. I want to spar more rounds. And everything has just been running smooth and everything is perfect.
I mean with Freddie Roach in my corner for the first time, I'm so motivated because of him. I want to impress him. I want to train hard every day so he can see that I am a fist fighter. So everything is perfect.
ROBERT MORALES : One last thing Oscar, just to follow up on that. Yesterday Floyd said that those who wear their hearts on their sleeves always come up short. Basically if you fight angry you have no chance of winning. And of course I always say that well look at Mayorga and Vargas. What do you think of that sentiment that a lot of people do have that you can't fight when you're angry.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: I'm not going to fight angry. I trained angry, but I'm not going to fight angry and that's going to be the difference.
PAUL GUTIERREZ, SACRAMENTO BEE : Hey just in looking back in your career, very, very few of your fights have you shown a genuine dislike for your opponents. I mean, Vargas comes to mind, Mayorga. But it seems like, is there a genuine dislike growing toward Floyd now or just still more of a respect level there.
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: It's just that, everything he talks, everything that comes out of his mouth, it's motivating to me because it just makes me work that much harder. But there's no respect whatsoever there.
PAUL GUTIERREZ : And lastly, so much has been made about how many different hats you wear be it the promoter, the boxer, do you need boxing or does the sport of boxing need you at this time?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : I will always need boxing. Boxing is what made me. Boxing is what's always going to make me. The sport is a sport that I just have so much passion for and that I love. And obviously that's one of the reasons why I turned promoter. To continue on receiving from the sport and also contributing to the sport because it works both ways, but obviously boxing is, I owe everything I have to boxing.
FRANKLIN MCNEIL, NEWARK STAR LEDGER : Yesterday I asked Floyd a question regarding the weight. A lot of people have been talking about the weight and how it would affect him. And he stopped right away and said; hey it's not going to have anything to do with weight, smarts. Do you agree with assessment or not?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Yes, absolutely. I mean, I have to agree with it to a certain extent because, you know, a few pounds do make a different. I mean, when you have two smart fighters in that ring, you know, then you know, what is going to be the advantage. Well, I mean, the punching power, the speed, the weight, the, you know.
You can be smart in the ring but he's not fighting no pushover here. You know, it's going to make a big difference.
FRANKLIN MCNEIL : OK and I'm going to get back to the sponsorship issue. Do you expect the sponsors to help finance future fights that don't include the name Oscar De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr. at the level that they're doing so now?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. Sponsors just want to, I mean, they want to be able to work, not only with a good company and with, you know, they want to have a good experience's and that's what we bring to the table, you know. I mean, we've been working with a lot of sponsors in all our other events that we do.
Whether it's on other Pay Per View fights, you know, because they have a good experience with us and we perform. You know, will it continue, absolutely, it's going to continue.
RICHARD SCHAEFER: As a matter of fact, you know, for upcoming big Pay Per View in July, with Bernard Hopkins versus Winky Wright, several of these sponsors have already signed up with sponsor activation 360 degree again,
And, you know, we are currently talking to two other very significant brands, corporate – Fortune 500, actually Fortune 100 companies here in the United States, which we are going to bring to the sport as well. Another sponsor which just signed up is Bally's Fitness.
All these fitness, you know, the hundreds and hundreds of stores, they are now tied in with Golden Boy as well so we're really bringing more and more sponsors into having a great experience and in the scope of things frankly, sports sponsorships have become so expensive. If you're a company and you want to get involved with the NBA or NFL or most sports, it has become so expensive. So boxing you get great exposure and it is, compared to other sports, extremely inexpensive.
BERNARD FERNANDEZ, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS: Yes, Oscar, I have two questions.
The first is all this talk about promoting boxing, sponsorships and everything that needs to do to be marketed properly. A few weeks ago, before I stop talking bad about you long enough to get into a Rosie O'Donnell – Donald Trump sort of thing with Dana White of the UFC over the relative merits of boxing versus UFC.
One thing that you can say with UFC is that they seem to have done a tremendous job marketing that sport. Is ultimate fighting and boxing, are they competing for the same fan basis, is it apples and oranges? And is there anything that boxing can take from the model of what UFC is doing to increase its popularity?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Well, I don't really think we're competing for the, I mean, the same audience. I mean if you take a look at UFC's biggest event that they've ever done which they said was going to pass, you know, millions and millions of homes.
I mean I don't think they've even reached the 900,000 home marks, you know, I mean the UFC is a sport that recently, you know, was introduced to the world, to the United States and, you know, it's obviously doing very well with the younger audience, but, you know, it doesn't have that history of boxing.
It doesn't have, you know, the 100 years of history that our great sport has, you know and I think that's the difference. I mean, you know, boxing will always be around but, you know, we have to ask ourselves, I mean, will the UFC be around for as long as boxing.
BERNARD FERNANDEZ : OK, one other thing that I wanted to ask you and fighters are going to hurt their hands. It's an occupational hazard at some point or another. You've had fights where you've had sore hands, bruised hands, you know. It happens a lot with Floyd. It doesn't seem to have necessarily been a problem when he's fighting a Baldimere (ph) or Gaddy (ph) where the gap and talent is so pronounced, you know, that he can fight one-handed or, you know, certainly not going to be the case with you.
I know that you and Freddy (ph) are aware of his history and that you will pounce on a situation like if he goes back to his corner after a round shaking his hand, or even if he lands a punch during the round and winces. How aware are you guys of that? And if you see at some point that, how prepared are you to take advantage of?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Yes, I mean well obviously it really hasn't been an issue in our training camp. I mean, we really haven't discussed it. You know, we've just been preparing for, you know, the best Mayweather out there, you know, with the best handset someone can ever have, you know. I mean you know, him hurting his hands.
I mean if it happens, you know, if I smell blood I go for it. That's just who I am, I mean, I close the show and so, you know, if I see somebody that is hurt like a wounded, you know, like a wounded animal, you know, if you see 'em wounded, you have to go after it and that can be – if that happens to Mayweather, I mean I'm going to fight as hard as I can to take advantage of that situation.
ED GRANEY, LAS VEGAS REVIEW : Floyd is kind of taking on what you'd expect in terms of wanting to be the villain and saying obviously you will the house fighter and the popular fighter, and when it comes to – if it went to a decision, he said he's not worried that, you know, he would trust the judges make the right call, do you see yourself with any advantage in that light of being the house guy and who people will probably be routing for more so and is it something you even think about in terms of if it went to a decision?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : No, it's funny, I'm not even thinking about that and, you know, I mean I had the choice of having this fight in Los Angeles which is obviously my home. Or in Las Vegas which is Floyd's home and I decided, hey, let's do it in his backyard, you know, I mean Las Vegas is where he's from and, you know, I have no worries whatsoever.
I mean we're going to do a fight – put on a great, great fight, obviously I know that on my part, but if it goes to the judges, you know, the decision is in their hands and obviously Nevada Commission always appoints competent judges to, you know, to do the right thing so I'm not worried about it whatever.
ED GRANEY: Can you talk – you say you went in his backyard and yet and again he's obviously playing up the kind of good guy villain from his side of things, but if you, you know, do you expect or do you hope that it is true in terms of the support in that arena and whose side it will go to. I mean, this is his backyard, but it won't be a shock if the crowd is for you?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Well, I mean that's a whole different story. I mean if the fans are, you know, cheering me on more than they are, you know, for him, I mean that's – it's, you know, probably his fault. I mean the way he acts, the way he carries himself. I mean, you know, he didn't choose to be the villain. He is a villain. I mean that's just the way he is, you know, and, you know, that has nothing to do with any outcome or, you know, leaving it to the judges' hands. I mean we have to fight in there and we have to win the fight and like I said, if it goes to the judges, you know, Nevada's, you know, competent in having good judging in their state.
TREA THOMPSON, FORT WORTH STAR: Good. Obviously you said earlier you had no respect for Floyd, and I know he kept making remarks about you, but did he cross that line, that Vargas-Mayorga level with what he said about your brother on 24/7?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : It was way before that. I mean ever since I first met the guy, you know, I mean every since we wanted to tour and he started talking all that trash. I mean, you know, it's – I did have respect for him obviously as a fighter, but it's just gone – it's just – he goes over the top so much that it's just that I lose that respect for him, you know. I mean, do I hate the guy, I don't hate the guy. I mean I'm not really that type of person to hate anybody but, you know, I think he just lost the respect I have for him.
TREA THOMPSON: Yes. Now this is for you and Richard, if you'll want to comment on this. Why didn't Floyd ever reach that transcended level you're at? I mean obviously he's a talented, sharp-looking guy and he definitely has no problem talking. What happened along the way where he didn't become one of those marketable fighters for the sport?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Well, I – in my part, I mean, you know, you hit it right on the button. I mean he has no problem talking. You know, that's his problem. I mean, he just – what comes out of his mouth is garbage, you know.
I mean I don't know what it is. I mean I remember talking to him, it was me and Sugar Ray Leonard, we were flying on a private jet back from I think it was the Boxing Hall of Fame and we were talking to Floyd, Jr., we were on the same plane together, and we were telling him, oh look, you're the future and you can be very marketable and this and that.
And he was just like, awe, whatever, you know, I don't care, you know. So his attitude has been, you know, has been just, you know, keeping him from being a Sugar Ray Leonard the way we had in the 70s.
TOM STEWART, BANGOR DAILY NEWS: I just wanted to ask you a question as it pertains to the promotion. You know, Floyd has cast himself in the role of the villain and do you kind of think for a promotion to be blockbuster like this one that there needs to be a good guy and a bad guy?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : No, not at all. you had the biggest – one of the biggest fights to date with, you know, with Lennox Lewis and Evander let's say, you know – you know, nobody was a villain there.
I mean, both of them were respectful and were nice and, you know. It was just that people wanted to see that fight and, you know, the fact that he says, oh I cast myself as a villain, no he didn't, that's just the way he is, I mean, you know.
TOM STEWART: OK and then just a second question. What do you see as Floyd's greatest strength in the ring? Is there anything that you really point to and you look at and you say, you know, he does a good job at that?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : His speed, he has good speed. But I'll tell you one thing, that night, May 5th, I'm going to be able to match his speed and I think, you know, his fast movements, his body movements are fairly quickly so, you know, we have to look out for his foot work, you know, which obviously starts and which triggers everything so, you know, we'll make sure that we cut off the ring good and attack.
STEVE SNYDER, RENO GAZETTE JOURNAL: I know you talked about it a little bit in Spanish, but I was wondering as far as the emotional impact for you fighting on Cinco De Mayo or Mexican Independence Day and the business impact, you know, the personal and the business, what are they for you?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : I just – it just feels – I feel proud, you know, of fighting on such important Mexican holidays, you know, especially here in the United States of America. I mean obviously, I'm a proud American and always will be. But fighting on those days which is Cinco De Mayo which is the War of Pueblo and the Mexican Independence Day on September 16, you know, those are special days for the Mexican National and obviously we know that a lot of Mexicans here in the United States and to me, it's just – it's a representation of me supporting and being there for my family who are obviously Mexican and for families that are here in the States.
You know, we can celebrate, have a barbecue, gatherings with family, you know, it's a fun weekend, you know, for everyone so it just makes me feel proud.
STEVE SNYDER : And then the business impact of fighting on those days? Because I mean almost exclusively you fight on those days, right?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Exactly and it's obviously going into these fights I mean you don't think about the business side of it, but obviously it is, you know, a big holiday – two big holidays for any events happening on those weekends and obviously with boxing being one of the primary sports that we support and when I say we, you know, I talk about my family, myself, you know, a lot of Mexican …
RICHARD SCHAEFER : OK. I can maybe give you – I think Oscar dropped off so while they reconnect, last (ph) question was about the financial impact and so on, I can give you for De La Hoya fight.
When he fought Fetu (ph) and I'm taking that out straight of the Security Exchange filing Form 10-Q from the Mandalay Bay Group, that fight was held at the Mandalay Bay, they actually claimed that earnings for the three and nine months ending October 3rd, 2002 reflect strong results on the Mandalay Bay where operating income rose 73 percent.
Results for the quarter were driven primarily by higher revenues principally due to the De La Hoya/Morales fight on September 14th so you see the kind of impact the De La Hoya fight has in Las Vegas. As a result, it had been implications on the stock price as well which shot up so the financial impact of a De La Hoya fight, not just in Las Vegas but generally I think, is absolutely tremendous.
Some of the other things I quickly would like to mention which might be interesting for the writers out there, and I don't think everybody is aware of that. If you look at the overall pay for view history to see biggest names in pay for events is Mike Tyson who has the lead with pay for view revenues of $545 million through his events.
Evander Holyfield is second on the list of all time with $543 million and then the third name on the list is Oscar with $492 million.
So if Oscar – if we are doing about 965,000 homes for this fight here, Oscar De La Hoya will become the all time highest grossing attraction in Pay Per View history so I felt that is actually a very interesting piece of information as well which I don't think all writers may have available. I think they're getting Oscar right now.
KELLY SWANSON : Go head Oscar.
BRUCE PASCOE, ARIZONA DAILY STAR : Hi, Oscar. I was just wondering between the promotion you're doing yourself for this fight and also, you know, with the other fighters you've got going on in your company, has your time management kind of changed as far as when you prepare for a fight like this as opposed to when you weren't doing all this stuff before?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : No, actually I'm very dedicated when it comes to my training and I explained you make time for everything. There's, you know, there's 24 hours in the day and obviously, you know, have 10-14 hours to do work and, you know, you make plans for everything.
I mean it's no distraction whatsoever, I train when I have to train and, you know, I watch videos of my opponents when I have to do that and, you know, when it comes to training for a fight, I do it 100 percent, you know, and it's actually relaxing to me to talk business with Richard and, you know, call my office and it's motivating, it's relaxing, it's, you know, it really feels good to be informed of what's going on.
BRUCE PASCOE : What's a typical day like in timelines like training, you know, certain hours, there are certain hours of the day when you guys do get together on the phone or what? How do you work that out?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA: Well, we discuss obviously the boxing business and then we discuss business outside of boxing. You know, I talked a lot with my matchmaker, Harry Baumetz (ph), who makes the fights – who puts the fights together, you know.
He's the one that I'm always questions about OK, do we have this guy and that guy, you know, let's make these fights happen and so it's fun to me. I mean this is why I turned promoter. I mean this is a fun job and I love doing it.
JOHN WHISLER, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS : Hey, you know, yesterday Floyd was being Floyd I guess and I asked him about whether he's watched 24/7 series and he said he has, and he said – I asked him what he learned about you and he said that you have no personality, you're extremely boring. Have you watched – what do you think about that comment first of all? And then have you watched him on that series?
OSCAR DE LA HOYA : Well, I mean I have watched it. I mean it's obviously, you know, I've contributed to the great ratings we've had and I mean obviously his comments I, you know, one ear out the other.
I obviously have no comment whatsoever on what he has to say but, you know, and the way he acts, I mean he's just, you know, as the fight gets closer and closer, you know, you tend to see it. He's getting nervous and more nervous and more nervous, you know.
I can see these things and obviously a big event like this can make you jumpy, and you know, and as the fight gets closer, we're going to be able to see it firsthand on 24/7 how Mayweather is just getting nervous.
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