Golden Boy Promotions Ends Relationship with Manager Al Haymon

Golden Boy Promotions, which is led by former boxing star Oscar De La Hoya, has cut ties with noted manager Al Haymon. Only a select number of his clients remain under contract with the promotion.

Dan Rafael of ESPN passed along comments from a source about why the group decided to go in another direction despite losing some popular fighters as a result. It all came down to being unable to create the type of high-profile fights it wanted:

He also noted some of the boxers leaving the promotion amid the change:

Kevin Iole of Yahoo Sports reports De La Hoya grew tired of trying to create intriguing matchups and then needing to get final approval from Haymon. The manager recently made a deal with NBC to start a boxing series with some fights on NBC and the NBC Sports Network.

He points out there are still some fighters with connections to both Golden Boy and Haymon:

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Golden Boy will retain the promotional rights to Haymon-advised fighters such as Amir Khan, Lucas Matthysse and Leo Santa Cruz. Golden Boy also has a deal independent of Haymon with Canelo Alvarez, one of the biggest stars in the sport.

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Although the decision may create some issues in the short term for the promotion, it should be a long-term gain once it's able to revamp the talent roster. Being able to create more high-quality fights should always remain the top priority.

It's been a growing issue in boxing over the past handful of years. Of course, the most obvious example is the fact Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, the two biggest stars right now, still haven't stepped in the ring together.

While that fight is on a completely different level than most potential bouts, it's a problem that trickles down throughout boxing. De La Hoya clearly wanted more freedom when it comes to the fighters in his promotion. This move should help.