Innovation and the art of promotion have been largely the key to Tom Loeffler’s success. Perhaps best known for his association with Gennady Golovkin, one of the greatest middleweight champions of the contemporary era, the “People’s Promoter” was also responsible for building the Klitschko that turned Roman Gonzalez – aka “Chocolatito” – into one of the biggest names in history . boxing and sheds airy on smaller weight categories. Unhappy with this, Loeffler can also be credited with bringing women’s boxing to US TV screens, and most importantly, it’s still a long way off as his success with Callum Walsh proves.

Bachelor degree: You were an innovator in bringing junior bantamweight and women’s boxing to HBO. Do you look back now and see that you made a gigantic impact in those divisions?

Loeffler: I’d like to think so. This was a formula that most, if not all, promoters were not following when it came to bringing attention to the lighter divisions as well as putting on the best show for the fans and television.

When “Chocolatito” was combined with “Triple G” [Golovkin]we literally had two of the best pound-for-pound fighters. I don’t think this has ever been done before. In any program. We had two of the best, widely recognized pound-for-pound fighters at the time, Triple G and Chocolatito, and the fans responded to Chocolatito so strongly that we were able to move his main character fights to his own show and we created the series “Superfly” with Peter Nelson and HBO. He had the foresight to see it coming, and when Chocolatito brought him to the attention of HBO, he suddenly became a fan favorite and burst into the mainstream.

While previously the division’s fighters fought in Mexico and Japan, and he in his native Nicaragua. But as soon as the spotlight hit him here in the United States, wallets naturally went up and he became a breakout star. It’s nice to see some other promoters following suit on the path we’ve created because we’ve had such success with the Superfly series.

Unfortunately, HBO stopped broadcasting boxing but [before that] same with Cecilia Brækhus. In 45 years of history [of HBO] was the first all-female fight in HBO history and that was lucky; it was partly bad luck for Triple G and some good luck for Cecilia.

She was scheduled to be on a pay-per-view with Triple G-Canelo II, Canelo tested positive, and the show then moved from pay-per-view to HBO.

Since Cecilia was already training and “Chocolatito” was injured, she was approved to appear on the Triple G show. That’s how she got on HBO, and HBO was so impressed with her that in the last show, HBO organized her own event for her.

Bachelor degree: She was fighting Kali Reis and she had to come off the deck to win, right?

Loeffler: She was knocked down. It was a lightning speedy knockdown, but she was knocked down, but then won most of the remaining rounds. It was the perfect venue because we needed a competitive fight – especially in women’s boxing.

There have been many pioneers in women’s boxing, Christy Martin, Lucia Rijker and Cecilia Brækhus are in the conversation, holding three Guinness Books of Records [including] one for most undisputed title defense and one for longest undisputed championship reign.

She really single-handedly developed professional boxing in Norway. It has actually been banned in Norway. She submitted a petition to the Prime Minister there, which was accepted in a vote. [Before that] she could fight anywhere in the world, defend her world titles except for her country. The Prime Minister promised her that if elected, she would accept professional boxing.

Bachelor degree: Will Gennady Golovkin ever officially retire?

Loeffler: I am still in constant contact with him and he has a huge position in Kazakhstan. He is actually the head of the National Olympic Committee, and with the Olympic Games coming up in Paris this year and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, he has a lot of responsibility and it’s a very vital position, especially since an amateur world champion, Olympic silver medalist and global superstar in the professional ranks.

He’s definitely right for the job because he knows boxing inside and out, both at the Olympic and professional levels, and I think he’s able to combine that experience to really create a mighty Kazakh presence at the Olympics

Bachelor degree: What was Chocolatito’s greatest moment for you?

Loeffler: I would actually say when he was at Madison Square Garden on the Triple G Show and he put on an amazing performance against Brian Viloria (W TKO 7, October 2015). Viloria was one of those world-class, well-known fighters, and he made a last-ditch effort and really rose to the occasion, fighting on HBO at Madison Square Garden, but he just fell a little compact. Chocolatito gave a masterful lecture.

Bachelor degree: What made him stand out?

Loeffler: There was a football-like atmosphere. You had Triple G with all the Kazakh flags, you had Chocolatito with all the Nicaraguan flags. The audience cheered for both of them. The atmosphere he brought with him to Novel York to Madison Square Garden for boxing fans and the emotions in the ring. It was basically a non-stop fight between Chocolatito and Viloria. This really brought fireworks to The Garden and made it a fan favorite.

Bachelor degree: How far is Gor Yeritsyan from the gigantic fight?

Loeffler: Gor is one of those players who had a great amateur career representing his country, Armenia, and turned professional, just like Callum Walsh. He trains with Freddie Roach, he is a very aggressive fighter with great knockout power. So I think this fight[against Aram Amirkhanyan]on July 26 will be his first defense of the WBC welterweight title in continental America and after one or two more fights he will be ready to challenge anyone in the top 10.

Bachelor degree: When all was said and done, what did you give to boxing?

Loeffler: I like to think I provided value to the fans and just a great atmosphere. One fight that stands out is when we bought Triple G “back home” – he trained in Large Bear, California and lived here in Los Angeles.

But he fought either overseas or in Novel York. Back home where we went to StubHub Center [to fight Marco Antonio Rubio in October 2014]. It seats 7,000 people, and we had such demand that we sold out all tickets three weeks before the event.

So I talked to the arena and we actually put in 2,000 stands for 2,000 additional fans. So we had 9,000 fans in a 7,000-seat venue and the atmosphere was amazing. In fact, this place still benefits from this event, the first Triple G event, as [part of] their promotion. They had a flying drone and a whole production with HBO, lights, audience and stands. It was a great atmosphere.

We did a tailgate party there – I just like to provide value to the fans, whether it’s a live experience [or those watching at home]. When Triple G came out to thank the fans, for the first time in history, the champion walked the entire area to thank the fans watching the telecast.

I feel like discovering modern stars. Many people didn’t even know where Kazakhstan was before. They either watched Borat, which was the only connection to Kazakhstan, or Triple G. Same with the Klitschko brothers. I was truly honored to start a promotional company with K2 Promotions and that they trusted me.

Our first fight at the Staples Center in 2004 was Vitali fighting for the title [vacant] WBC heavyweight championship [against Corrie Sanders].

When Lennox Lewis retired and vacated the title because he knew he shouldn’t do a rematch with Vitali after the first fight [that Lewis won on cuts in six rounds following a brutal fight].

Kind of a trial by fire, the first fight on HBO, the brand modern Staples Center arena where the Lakers played in the premier venue, international television and it was a successful event. I have promoted all of Klitschko’s fights since this show, so I am proud to set the record for the most heavyweight championship fights by any promoter this century.

It’s great to see this [Oleksandr] Usyk continues this tradition because he is associated with K2 Ukraine, which was our sister company. It’s amazing to see the Ukrainian players, the Kazakh players that I’m working with now. Callum Walsh is the first Irish player [I’ve worked with]that really seems to be my niche when it comes to bringing people from all over the world and making them stars here in the United States.

Bachelor degree: Why did Callum Walsh become a crossover star?

Loeffler: I have been in boxing for over 30 years and this is the first time I see a boxer being promoted together with UFC fans and this was a specific mission that I created with Dana White. Without Dana’s support, none of this would be possible. Dana gave us the green airy to build boxing on UFC Fight Pass. We have the highest rating of any boxing show on UFC Fight Pass, so our formula works.

We had sold out crowds. With Dana’s support, we’ve been able to do a lot of cross-promotion, having Callum at UFC events and getting him in front of the UFC media, which is huge. We took him to the fan meeting area where he signed more autographs and [posing for] more photos than when he’s at a boxing match. Its recognition is definitely growing. Then we took him to WWE’s Monday Night Raw. His first WWE appearance was also my first appearance and it was amazing. Introducing Callum to WWE fans on camera was an incredible highlight. So we’re excited about that.

My mantra has always been to cross-promote Triple G. We had so many Mexican fans for a Kazakh fighter named Triple G. It was amazing. He was selling out shows in Southern California, breaking records in Southern California, and most of the fans were Mexican boxing fans. I’m a gigantic believer in promoting to as many people as possible, cross-promoting, not just boxing fans, but every demographic of boxing fans, and now UFC fans and WWE fans. I think this just scratches the surface of what Callum Walsh can achieve both in and out of the ring.