Jon Jones may not make the jump to heavyweight any time soon, but after parting ways with his previous management team, “Bones” is making moves.
On Wednesday, the former UFC light heavyweight champion announced that he had hired Richard Schaefer as an advisor. Schaefer, 59, is the former CEO of boxing’s Golden Boy Promotions, who later founded Ringstar Sports.
“I have retained Richard Schaefer as my Advisor,” Jones wrote in a message posted to social media. “Richard has been in the combat space for over 20 years and has put together some of the biggest global Pay Per View events over that period. The likes of Mayweather, De La Hoya, Canelo, Hopkins, Barrera, and Marquez have headlined the exciting events that Richard has promoted and produced.”
Jones continued by adding that “His knowledge 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.”
Curiously enough, the UFC, where Jones remains under contract, was not mentioned once in the announcement. Nor was Schaefer’s noted lack of experience in the MMA realm, which differs significantly from boxing, which falls under the Ali act.
Previously, Jones had hinted that his long-awaited heavyweight debut could be pushed back to 2022. The 33-year old has not fought since a close decision win against Dominick Reyes in February of 2020.
Over the past year or so, Jones had been linked to a fight with current UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou. However, talks appeared to break down when it came to the financials behind the fight, leading to a very public spat between Jones and promotion President Dana White.
