“Cater Knowledge for Achievements”

Robert D. Gasparri is the COO of Golden Boy Promotions, one of the most active boxing promotional companies in the business. Golden Boy Promotions has been putting on some of the biggest boxing events in the world, working with the biggest names in the sport of boxing including Oscar De La Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, Canelo Alvarez, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather, Miguel Cotto and Shane Mosley, to name a few. It’s Gasparri’s job as COO to ensure these events are run seamlessly and smoothly.

According to problem-solver Robert Gasparri, his job has numerous unexpected challenges. Every day, I monitor team development and build trust. My staff knows I am a meticulous planner who can also organize others' work and solve operational issues. Building a team of professionals and communicating their duties is my forte. There are many challenges when it comes to putting on a professional boxing match, including finding the right venue and city to host the event in, working with the TV production team, selling tickets, marketing and much more. There is a great deal of planning and organization that goes into putting on a mega-fight or any event of any magnitude. You start with an announcement followed by a press conference in the city in which you will host the event. Then, we start to plan other activities, marketing buys, social media posting, etc. Then, we prepare a list of fight week activities to help bring attention in the leadup to the event. This consists of a public workout, media day, final press conference, an official public weigh-in and, of course, fight night.

A good leader inspires and motivates. Robert despises micromanagement and is great at building confidence and recognizing team members' strengths and flaws. Upon successful completion of a benchmark, they are granted full authority, says Robert. He values personal as well as professional progress. It's impossible to measure an entry-level employee's success, but knowing he helped them makes Robert pleased.

Believe in your partners' and teammates' visions, says Robert. In 2015, the company restructured, and good decisions rescued it. A new hierarchy was developed. Making difficult choices demands mutual respect. That way, we can better serve our customers, the fans, and provide our employees with a positive, productive work environment.

Everyone, even me, has something to learn, says Robert. Every person's viewpoint is valuable and listening necessitates input. I appreciate criticism of my work or business techniques, especially if they suggest a better method. Knowledge must be shared in both ways to improve a corporation. So, as COO, I must analyze the organization's needs.

I have been involved in transitioning our business into the streaming world. Sports streaming apps are the future. We made history with DAZN, one of the first major boxing streaming services! Our marketing departments have also embraced digital marketing, which includes digital ads on major social media platforms and geo-targeting our combat sports fans.

Golden Boy's goal is to enhance the boxing fans’ experience. This applies to not only the fans attending the events in person, but also those fans who are experiencing the fight at home via the streaming services. We work as a team at Golden Boy. This team includes our matchmakers, publicity and marketing team, accountants, sponsorship agency and operations team. All of them together make for a successful promotion.

Per Robert “I've spent years in operations, production, and ticketing, where I learned every department and know how to optimize all the assets available to me in order to sell out the event. We discuss improvements during our weekly meetings with our Golden Boy Promotions team, internally as well as our broadcast partners. DAZN is currently our main client, so I use my years of experience and help make the most successful boxing event for each show we do.

It's always been enjoyable to pick a location to host a mega-boxing event. I love outdoor venues and locations that normally do not host boxing events. One of my favorite locations was in Houston, Texas, where in 2015 we hosted Canelo Alvarez vs. James Kirkland at Minute Maid Park. It is a baseball stadium that we converted to a mega boxing event in which over 33,000 fans came to event and enjoyed a night of fights. We also put on boxing events at AT&T Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys play with over 50,000 fans in attendance, and many more iconic venues including The Forum, Crypto.com arena, Madison Square Garden and hundreds of other venues around the country.

My background has been diverse. Before college, I served in the US Marine Corps where I was first taught the meaning of teamwork. After college, I worked in the financial services Industry at Merrill Lynch and UBS (Union Bank of Switzerland). These early experiences served as the building blocks of my future success at Golden Boy, especially on the financial side of the business. These experiences continue to help me as COO of Golden Boy with over 16 years in the company,” states Robert.

Helping to build one of the world's best boxing promotional companies has been a very rewarding road. I’ve worked with all the other major boxing promotional companies in the sport, as well as other major TV and streaming networks, major venues in the country, major sponsors and the biggest fighters in the business. My biggest joy is seeing the reaction of the crowd on fight night when they cheer for their favorite boxer in the ring”, says Robert.

Golden Boy and I both enjoy helping others as well. As Director of the Oscar De La Hoya Foundation, I oversee fundraisers and charitable events that raise money and give back to communities that need it the most. From handing out turkeys to hundreds of families during Thanksgiving to providing toys and school supplies during Christmas time and even providing gym equipment for after school programs--we do a lot to give back to the community and it’s an honor. I very much enjoy my job's humanitarian component, says Robert. IE