Anschutz Entertainment Group and Oscar De la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions signed a partnership agreement last week that could permanently change the future of boxing in Las Vegas. The new partnership could ease the things for AEG and its plans to build a new 20,000-seat, $500 million boxing arena located behind the Bally's Hotel and Casino and the Paris Las Vegas. For years, other venues including the MandalayBay Resort and casino, the Caesars Palace and the Mirage hotel and casino have served as the favorite locations for boxing matches.

The AEG's arena is scheduled to open in 2010 and it is expected to hold most, if not all, of Golden Boy's boxing events in the Las Vegas area. However, Golden Boy Promotions chief executive officer Richard Schaefer says the company has no intentions to cancel its agreements with MGM Mirage or any other Las Vegas hotels at this point.

"We don't have an exclusivity deal with them," "We did that deliberately because we have longtime partnerships in Las Vegas that we don't want to see end. I have a very close relationship with Richard Sturm of the MGM Grand, and we plan to continue to do business with them." Schaefer said.

This is not the first time that Golden Boy Promotions and AEG join forces; De La Hoya’s company has been involved with AEG in several other deals including the purchase of the Houston Dynamo, a Major League Soccer team which franchise is also owned by AEG. Anschutz Entertainment Group also owns or manages several other teams and venues including the StaplesCenter in Los Angeles and the HomeDepotCenter in Carson, California.