By Robert Morales
Tom Loeffler was not thrilled to read Richard Schaefer's comments in BoxingScene.com's Insider Notebook this week. Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions, for one thing complained about what he believes is a lack of respect from Team Gennady Golovkin towward Golden Boy in regards to Golden Boy's middleweight champion Peter Quillin.
Fellow champion Golovkin is promoted by K2-Promotions, for which Loeffler is general manager.
"I like to do great fights and I don't have a problem and I know Peter Quillin has no problem with fighting anybody, including Golovkin," Schaefer said. "But I have to tell you, what doesn't get one very far with me is when they become disrespectful. Like Abel Sanchez (Golovkin's trainer) has, and Tom Loeffler has, and HBO has by not wanting to work with us.
"So as long as these kinds of situations exist, I see no chance of that fight happening. I never said a bad word about Golovkin because I believe Golovkin is a very talented fighter."
Schaefer also took shots at the idea that Golovkin is next going to defend his title against Osumanu Adama of Ghana on Feb. 1 in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
"You have to look at the quality of the opposition," Schaefer said. "Who do you think is going to win in Monaco? They just announced the fight. The guy (Adama), I forget his name, I've never heard of him. So I tell you what's going to happen: Golovkin is going to knock the guy out and certain TV (announcers), like Max Kellerman, he's going to be like jumping up and down and he's going to say what kind of animal Golovkin is, that this is like the knockout of the knockout. You know that's going to happen.
"I don't like to do those fights. I don't like to see fights where you know who's going to win. And I think even Larry Merchant in a recent interview on BoxingScene, alluded to the fact that these one-sided matchups are going to have to stop."
For one thing, Loeffler is peeved that his name was thrown in that mix of people who have supposedly been disrespectful toward Golden Boy. For another, he intimated Schaefer has some nerve bad-mouthing one of Golovkin's opponents, especially since one of Quillin's more recent foes - Fernando Guerrero - was stopped by middle-of-the-road Grady Brewer in the fourth round in 2011. Brewer was 40 at the time with a record of 27-12.
"I think it's unfair of him (Schaefer) to criticize Adama when (one of) Quillin's last opponents was Fernando Guerrero, who got knocked out by Grady Brewer," Loeffler said.
"We never said that publicly, but if he's going to criticize Gennady's opponents, we firmly stand behind the fact that people have gone out of their way to avoid Gennady. (Daniel) Geale vacated the title in order not to fight him. Felix Sturm avoided him for a number of years. (Dmitry) Pirog, who knocked out Danny Jacobs, was supposed to fight him and he got injured. And the list goes on and on.
"So anyone who is critical of his opponents is just not realistic as to who's actually willing to get in the ring with him. I know Abel has been critical of Quillin as far as the whole Showtime thing. The feud between Showtime and HBO is completely out of our control. I've never said anything negative about Golden Boy or Peter Quillin."
A title unification bout between Golovkin and Quillin becomes more difficult to make than usual because Golovkin fights on HBO, Quillin on rival Showtime. Still, Loeffler would love that fight to take place.
"I think Peter Quillin is a great champion, who is undefeated," Loeffler said. "At some point, it would be a great fight."
Schaefer at times over the past year has said that Golovkin, of Kazakhstan, was not yet known enough in the States to warrant a fight with Quillin. Loeffler noted that Golovkin's most recent HBO fight - an 8th-round TKO of Curtis Stevens at Madison Square Garden - drew the third-highest rating of any boxing show on cable television this year. Neither of the other two involved Quillin.
Robert Morales covers boxing for the Los Angeles Daily News and BoxingScene.com.
