Golden Boy signs Christopher Pearson to promotional contract

On May 2 in Las Vegas, two days ahead of the Canelo-Jacobs card, Golden Boy ran a free streaming online show from the Hard Rock, headlined by middleweight Yamaguchi Falcao against Christopher Pearson.

The story of the fight was a simple one: Pearson had beaten Falcao in the amateurs, and now the undefeated Brazilian, a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, was going for revenge.

It didn’t quite work out that way, as Pearson pulled the upset, beating Falcao on points over 10 rounds.

Pearson was once a Mayweather prospect and his early pro fights came on Golden Boy shows, but he’d suffered losses in 2015 and 2017, and by 2018 found himself with no promoter, existing on the fringes of the sport. He took fights in Jamaica and Indianapolis — not exactly pro boxing hotbeds — and won both, then was brought in to face Falcao.

Immediately after the fight, Golden Boy’s Bernard Hopkins, who was doing commentary, expressed a desire to get backstage and get Pearson (17-2, 12 KO) signed to Golden Boy. At 28, he’s still young enough to have upside, and all promoters are in need of every quality fighter they can get in today’s market, with these giant content deals with broadcasters.

Now, the deal is done. Pearson has signed a contract with Golden Boy.

It’s no huge signing, this isn’t Canelo or GGG signing a DAZN deal or anything like that, but it’s a great story of a guy who had a couple setbacks, bounced back, surprised a lot of people, and a month later has a promotional deal with a major outfit.