:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/355631/gyi0060315078.jpg)
Lou DiBella hasn't taken kindly to Richard Schaefer of Golden Boy Promotions saying publicly that GBP now "represents" former welterweight titlist Andre Berto, saying that he has been assured by Berto's manager Al Haymon that DiBella Entertainment is still Berto's promoter:
"Richard could keep talking and say whatever the fuck Richard wants to say. I'm not going to worry about what Richard Schaefer is saying. I've been Berto's promoter from the first moment that he turned pro. ... I talk to his manager every day. I'm not going to worry about Richard Schaefer. Richard Schaefer seems intent on trying to put everyone else out of business, he should worry about his own business."
B-b-b-but the good guys at Golden Boy are saving boxing and never do anything underhanded! This DiBella must be wrong! BLAME ARUM!
That kidding aside (well, kinda kidding), DiBella also says it's boxing, and you never know because of the nature of the business. He's right. Haymon could be stringing him along at this point. But that doesn't seem like Al Haymon's style. Why lie to someone? He doesn't have to lie. He's Al Haymon, quiet king of boxing.
It has been reported before that Haymon's clients don't really have promoters -- as in, they aren't signed and locked in with a promoter, they just have "promoters of record." These promoters don't do less work for these fighters or anything, they just don't have signed deals with the fighters. Haymon's clients are Al Haymon fighters who fight under promotional banners, usually Golden Boy.
But Berto has always been with DiBella, and until Berto or Haymon change that publicly, it should be assumed that they still are. That means that Berto is still potentially open to facing Top Rank's Timothy Bradley on December 15, or to facing Cornelius Bundrage on November 24. Both of those are HBO dates and are good fights, so Berto's in a pretty enviable position for a guy who hasn't fought in a year and failed a drug test a few months ago.