De la Hoya leads Golden Boy onto Brooklyn turf

Swarmed by photographers, media and fans and surrounded by sweat-soaked boxers in fabled Gleason's Gym yesterday, former champion Oscar de la Hoya and his Golden Boy Promotions planted their flag in Brooklyn. From the look of things, the fighters welcomed the West Coast invaders and their promise to develop fighters from the local market and build a monthly boxing program at the Barclay's Center when it opens in mid-2012.

Why Brooklyn? With a gesture toward the boxers working around him, de la Hoya said, "Take a look at these guys. I want to participate; I want to help; I want to make a difference."

Fresh money in boxing certainly would be welcome at the grass roots level. But Golden Boy's partnership with the Barclay's Center and, by extension, with Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire who now owns the Nets and a share of the new arena, really signals a turf war. It's Golden Boy and Barclay's against Madison Square Garden and its promotional partners, including critics such as Brooklyn-born Lou DiBella.

When the deal was announced over a month ago, DiBella complained to Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment CEO Brett Yormark and that no local promoters were consulted. As if to rub salt in the wound, former welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi, who recently left DiBella, showed up for the festivities, and expects to join Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer's stable. "Paulie defines Brooklyn; he's a well-spoken guy, and now, we are going to have a voice here in Brooklyn, too," Schaefer said.

Yormark said Golden Boy is willing to do co-promotions with others. "If he wants to be a part of the dance, we urge him to do so," Yormark said of DiBella, "but certain parameters have been set. Golden Boy is going to take the lead. We're willing to work with anyone who wants to grow boxing in the market, but there's a way we need to do business and he's going to have to get in line and do it."

If anyone has a foot in the door, it's promoter Don Majeski, who is in line to serve as Golden Boy's point man in developing a New York base. Schaefer's plan calls for four or five cards per year scaled for a crowd of 2,500, a couple of ESPN shows about the same size, two or three HBO "Boxing After Dark" cards and probably two major pay-per-view or world championship cards per year for the full arena.