Former UFC light heavyweight champion and pound-for-pound kind Jon Jones has retained new representation to handle his fighting negotiations.
Jones has retained the services of former Golden Boy CEO Richard Schaefer. He recently split with his longtime management firm First Round Management. Jones made the announcement via social media on Wednesday.
“I have retained Richard Schaefer as my advisor,” Jones announced in a statement on Twitter. “Richard has been in the combat sports space for over 20 years and has put together some of the biggest pay-per-view events over that period. The likes of [Floyd] Mayweather, [Oscar] De La Hoya, ‘Canelo’ [Alvarez], [Bernard] Hopkins, [Marco Antonio] Barrera and [Juan Manuel] Marquez have headlined exciting events that Richard has promoted and produced.
“His knowledges and experience of the pay-per-view industry and combat sports are second to none. I am excited to embark on this next chapter of my career as I continue to cement my place in history as one of the greats with Richard as my advisor. I can’t wait to give my fans and the sport the fights they want to see.”
Khabib Nurmagomedov turned down $100 million offer to box Floyd Mayweather
— BONY (@JonnyBones) May 26, 2021
Jones relinquished his 205-pound title in August 2020 to make a run at being a two-division champion in the heavyweight division. He was expected to face newly crowned champion Francis Ngannou in Ngannou’s first title defense but negotiations with the UFC went sour.
UFC president Dana White said that Jones was asking for $30 million to take the fight against Ngannou, a figure Jones refutes. The dispute between Jones and the fight promotion has been very public and at one point Jones asked to be released from his contract.
While White has a well documented dislike for Oscar De La Hoya, he’s praised Schaefer in the past. After hearing that Schaefer would be representing Jones, White indicated to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that he would try to work with Schaefer to get a deal done.
“I like Richard, I’ve known Richard for a long time and obviously, he built Golden Boy. He built that company. He knows what he’s doing, he’s a smart guy. I like and respect him and if we can get something done we will.”
Dana White, on Jon Jones retaining Richard Schaefer. “I like Richard, I’ve known Richard for a long time and obviously, he built Golden Boy. He built that company. He knows what he’s doing, he’s a smart guy. I like and respect him and if we can get something done we will.”
— Brett Okamoto (@bokamotoESPN) May 26, 2021
Jon Jones hires prominent ‘advisor’ to handle career, Dana White approves
