Al Haymon (born April 21, 1955) is an American businessman and boxing manager. He was the manager of Floyd Mayweather Jr. and has won the Boxing Writers of America Manager of the Year Award five times.
Haymon was raised in Cleveland, Ohio, and studied economicsatHarvard.[1] He also has an MBA from Harvard.
His first career was in music promotion, where he promoted such acts as M. C. Hammer, New Edition, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Mary J. Blige and Rick James. He branched out to other entertainment areas, such as when he worked with Eddie Murphy.[1] In 1999, he sold 50% of A. H. Enterprises to SFX Entertainment.[2]
Around 2000, Haymon ventured into boxing when he managed Vernon Forrest.[1] Over the next decade, he gained considerable influence in boxing, mainly due to his connection to Floyd Mayweather Jr.[1] In 2005 and 2013, he won the Al Buck Award (Manager of the Year) from the Boxing Writers Association of America.[3]
Haymon founded Premier Boxing Champions, which held its first event in 2015.
Greg Bishop, formerly of the New York Times and now of Sports Illustrated, suggests that Haymon functions as both promoter and manager, against the principles of the Muhammad Ali Boxing Reform Act, which was designed to separate boxing promoters from boxing managers.[1] He has also been criticized by fans and writers alike for the inactivity of many of his fighters.[4][5][6]
Fighters who are currently or were previously represented by Haymon include:[1][7]