Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer: Celebs give ‘stamp of approval’ to Las Vegas as an event Mecca

By John Katsilometes

Thursday, May 6, 2010 | 5:47 p.m.

In one corner of the arena, Will Smith was gently kissing Muhammad Ali on the cheek. In the other, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was clasping the hand of his wife, Maria Shriver, while leading her to their ringside seats.

Oh yeah, MGM Grand Garden Arena was adorned with stars Saturday night for the Floyd Mayweather Jr.-Shane Mosley welterweight bout. Stars turning out for a major fight in Vegas is not news, but the volume and variety at Saturday's bout was as staggering as the right hands Mosley cracked against Mayweather's noggin that nearly ended the fight in Round 2.

Among those famous types in the audience (discounting Ah-nuld, Maria, Smith and Ali): Michael J. Fox, Rosie Perez, LL Cool J, Mary J. Blige, Jeremy Piven, Mark Wahlberg, Maria Carey, Jamie Foxx, Usher, Eva Longoria and Tony Parker, Neil Diamond, Kevin Dillon, Jerry Ferrera, Jay-Z, Nelly, LaDainian Tomlinson, Frank Thomas, Gary Sheffield, Mike Tyson, Tommy Hearns, Shawne Merriman, members of The O'Jays, Usher, Magic Johnson, Diddy, Leonardo DiCaprio and Bar Refaeli, Brandon Marshall, Tony Sanchez, and Willis McGahee.

I know, I'm thinking the same thing: The O'Jays?

Still, it's the type of turnout that can mask an odd decision — the weirdly ironic choice of Chris Brown to sing the national anthem at a boxing match — and reinforce Las Vegas as one of the nation's premier big-event destinations.

"It was getting pretty crowded in the first two rows," said Richard Schaefer, chief executive officer of Golden Boy Promotions, the Oscar De La Hoya-founded boxing body that promoted Saturday's fight. "These A-list celebrities love to come to Las Vegas, and the fight just gives them a good excuse to go."

The star power of the event is worth noting as Las Vegas and MGM Mirage fight to maintain the status as the nation's boxing capital in the face of serious competition for major bouts from such large-scale venues as Cowboys Stadium and the new Yankee Stadium. Cowboys Stadium hosted the March 13 Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey bout, and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones wants Pacquiao-Mayweather so bad he says he can taste it. The idea of 100,000 fans filing into the stadium for any reason helps spark J.J.'s appetite.

As Top Rank Inc. founder Bob Arum noted in the week leading up to the Pacquiao-Clottey fight, a number of new stadiums are expected to fight for fights. On June 5, Yankee Stadium is hosting its first title bout since Ali outpointed Ken Norton in September 1976, Yuri Foreman vs. Miguel Cotto. The new Meadowlands Stadium, home of the New York Jets and Giants, also is expected to be among very large venues to host fights. (Arum, a Las Vegan whose company is based in Las Vegas, has been a Giants ticketholder since the days of Y.A. Tittle.)

What's it all have to do with Jamie Foxx watching a fight in Vegas? A lot, when you consider that Las Vegas civic-wise and MGM Mirage corporately are selling the Vegas experience as a way to lure fights to venues quite a lot smaller than Cowboys Stadium and Yankee Stadium.

"I'm not sure you can measure celebrities from a monetary point of view, but the cumulative effect elevates Las Vegas as a destination and as the fight capital of the world, which I believe it still is," Schaefer said. "It shows that the MGM Grand is extremely conducive to big events. It has an impact on the media who are covering the fight, it has an impact on those who are watching the event on pay-per-view."

Schaefer, who has seen all variety of major events, said he's not seen an event as laden with celebrities as Saturday's fight.

"I've been to NBA Finals, World Cup Finals, and I've never seen that many in one night," he said. "It's like a seal of approval, a quality seal of approval, from the biggest names in music, in movies, in politics, in sports. It really was impressive."

As impressive as Cowboys Stadium was as a venue (speaking of staggering), its celebrity turnout was almost exclusively limited to former and current Dallas Cowboys. Drew Pearson was a great player, yes, but he's no Jamie Foxx (the difference being that when Jamie Foxx enters an arena, people recognize him.) Jones himself is a star attraction, but not in the class of Ali.

Schaefer has not been to Cowboys Stadium, and abruptly canceled a trip to the stadium during the initial Pacquiao-Mayweather negotiations. When asked for an explanation, this week, of why he didn't make the trip, he said only, "I really don't want to talk about Pacquiao-Mayweather, or where that fight would be held right now. That's how negotiations break down."

But Schaefer did stress that, even as he is "very pro Las Vegas," he is not anti-Dallas or anti-Texas. He holds up the Houston Dynamo MLS soccer club — in which Golden Boy Productions is an investor — and his own kids as examples of his lone-star appreciation.

Schaefer has three sons — 15-year-old Richard, 13-year-old Nicky and 12-year-old Alexi. All are Dallas Cowboys fans.

"Alexi's whole room is decorated with Cowboys memorabilia. When I didn't make the trip to meet Jerry Jones, I wasn't sure I was going to be allowed back home," Schaefer said with a laugh. "In fact, we have two seats from the old Texas Stadium."

Schaefer said he believes fight fans would be treated to a superior experience watching the fight live or even on pay-per-view in Las Vegas — MGM Mirage can count up to 70,000 fans watching on pay-per-view at its hotels added to the live audience — than at Cowboys Stadium. As he says, in Las Vegas the fight card easily can be folded into a weekend of shows, fine dining, gambling and club-hopping.

"If I'm visiting Las Vegas with my wife, I want to be able to do other things than just watch a fight," he said. "I might want to see the fight on pay-per-view, then go out and see a show or do something else."

The "something else" option was something of an impossibility in Arlington after the Pacquiao-Clottey fight, unless you wanted to catch Pacquiao's concert (he's quite the vocalist) across the parking lot at the Ballpark at Arlington.

"I'd heard there were some logistics problems, not being able to get food late, and the hotel was far from the venue," Schaefer said, allowing that he is certain Cowboys Stadium is a powerhouse facility. "I'm sure it is spectacular. Who knows? Maybe one of these days I'll get to see it."

More to note

• Hinted at here Thursday and nudged toward confirmation by my friend, stir-it-up Steve Friess, in his Vegas Happens Here blog Sunday was the story that Gloria Estefan is destined for the Tropicana once the renovations of Tiffany Theatre are completed. I'm told those renovations start after July (which would seem to mean August, right?). No word from the Trop or from Estefan rep Bernie Yuman for details about this Estefan production.

• Tara Palsha, a cast member in both "Fantasy" at Luxor and, later, "Peepshow" at Planet Hollywood, will be part of "Vegas! The Show" at Saxe Theater. She's the redhead who fended off the wind machine on the sports car in "Peep" and was with "Fantasy" for several years before switching shows.

• The second post-Killian's Angels weekend at Brendan's Irish Pub at The Orleans will feature Beatles tribute band The Fab from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday. This week marks the 40th anniversary of the release of "Let It Be."

• "Mob Chronicles" is the no-nonsense title of a no-nonsense event set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Winchester Cultural Center on 3130 S. McLeod Drive. It is a multimedia panel discussion hosted by Frank Cullotta, formerly an aide to Tony "The Ant" Spilotro and featuring former law-enforcement reps and mob author Dennis Griffin. The cost is $15, and these organized crime discussions never disappoint.

• Something about Mandarin Oriental GM Rajesh Jhingon: After smoking up to 40 Marlboro Reds a day for 26 years, the obsession to smoke was lifted one day as he walked along a street in Singapore. Just like that, he quit, and hasn't taken a drag since. Happened about six years ago.

• A storefront that caught my eye today on Craig Road and Las Vegas Boulevard: Kats Like Us tattoo and body piercing. The business has been serving Nellis Air Force Base personnel (and just about anyone else who walks in) for 10 years. Kats is a play on "cats," as in, "hep cats," I'm told.

Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at twitter.com/JohnnyKats.