3 things you need to know about Jon Jones' new manager, Richard Schaefer
Having parted company with First Round Management earlier in the year, former UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will now be advised by Richard Schaefer instead.
Schaefer is a respected name in the combat sports promotion and management industry. However, this will be his first venture into the sport of mixed martial arts. With that in mind, here are three details you need to know about Schaefer.
Three things you need to know about Jon Jones' new manager, Richard Schaefer
#3 Richard Schaefer is a former Swiss banker
Richard Schaefer did not begin his career how one might imagine. The man who would later go on to manage Jon Jones began his career in an industry far removed from combat sports.
Schaefer started his career as a manager of the Swiss Bank office in Los Angeles in 1994. Two years later, when Swiss Bank took over UBS, Schaefer was placed in charge of operations for the western United States. He was later named deputy CEO of all UBS private banking operations in the United States.
Despite appearing to be set for an incredibly lucrative career in banking, in 2000 Schaefer made the decision to leave the banking industry and pursue combat sports management and promotion.
#2 Richard Schaefer created his own boxing promotion
Richard Schaefer had primarily worked for boxing promotions, building a reputation as being one of the best in the business. However, in 2016 he made the decision to take the reigns of his own promotion.
Schaefer created Ringstar Sports, a boxing promotion. In 2019 they signed top-rated Mexican Amateur fighter Fernando Molina. The promotion has also signed numerous other talented boxers, including US Olympians Carlos and Jose Balderas.
#1 Richard Schaefer is a former Golden Boy Promotions CEO
Whilst Schaefer's work with Ringstar Sports is notable, his time with Golden Boy Promotions is where he truly made his mark. Schaefer worked alongside Oscar De La Hoya as CEO of the prestigious boxing promotion.
Jon Jones is a huge name in the MMA industry, but with Golden Boy Promotions, Schaeffer has worked with some of the biggest sporting names of all time, such as Floyd Mayweather and Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.
It was De La Hoya who convinced Schaefer to leave his established job as a banker and take the step in boxing promotion and management. The two men created one of the greatest modern boxing promotions which represented some of the biggest stars the sport of boxing has ever seen.
However, Schaefer's time with Golden Boy would not end well as he resigned in 2016. This led to De La Hoya filing an arbitration accusing him of a breach of fiduciary duty to the company, which Schaefer denied. They would later reach a settlement and Schaefer would go on to his own endeavours.