Former Golden Boy promoter Richard Schaefer has officially announced the launch of Probellum, a new boxing promotion and media company for which Schaefer will serve as the company’s president. Probellum will seek to leverage its relationships in multiple regions (including Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East, among others) to take a more holistic approach to this highly fragmented and fragmented sport.
One goal in particular mentioned by Schaefer is their ambitious plan to promote, co-promote or support over 100 events in the company’s first year of operation, with an overwhelming majority of these events to be held outside of United States.
Probellum will also seek to leverage its digital platform to deliver original content and related programming while building its brand globally. Clearly, Schaefer will seek better fortune with this venture after returning from an enforced hiatus (stemming from his Golden Boy spinoff) to found Ringstar Sports in 2016, which would later merge with Hayemaker Ringstar the following year. Schaefer, however, insists this venture will be very different because he has assembled a team of individuals who he says gives him both the know-how and access to capital to succeed.
“I really think it’s an all-star team with access to capital, but also passionate and experienced in boxing,” said Schaefer, a former Swiss banker based in Los Angeles. “I think the oft-overused term ‘dream team’ is appropriate here. The strength of the team will give confidence to the networks, confidence to the sponsors and above all confidence to the talents.
Schaefer says Probellum’s interest will begin in Africa, which Schaefer says has been a market that has traditionally been overlooked despite its promise with the rise in popularity of two MMA fighters in Francis Ngannou and Kamaru Usman.
