The company was established in 2002 by eight-time world champion (in six divisions) Oscar De La Hoya, borrowing his nickname "Golden Boy."

[1] Golden Boy promoted the May 5, 2007, "super fight" between De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather, at the MGM Grand, in Las Vegas, Nevada.

[2] The company also co-promoted, with Top Rank, The Dream Match: Oscar De La Hoya Vs Manny Pacquiao on December 6, 2008.

When Oscar De La Hoya formed Golden Boy, he said he wanted to change boxing, to bring honor to the sport.

In January 2017, Golden Boy signed a contract to bring their boxing promotions to ESPN under a two-year deal of a total of 48 fights.

The first fight under this new deal was on December 15 of that year, when Álvarez made his first appearance at the historic Madison Square Garden challenging Rocky Fielding (27-1, 15 KOs) for the WBA Super Middleweight World Championship.

In 2018, De La Hoya added mixed martial arts matches to his roster, as Golden Boy MMA, beginning with a 2018 trilogy bout between long-time rivals Chuck Liddell and Tito Ortiz.

[11] The promotion was cancelled 10 days prior to its third Affliction: Trilogy PPV event, featuring Fedor Emelianenko and Josh Barnett, in July 2009, subsequent to Barnett having tested positive for anabolic steroids, in accordance with the California State Athletic Commission,[12] when a qualified replacement fighter could not be secured in time.