Left-Hook Lounge Mailbag: GBP/Top Rank’s “PBC” Lawsuit, Mayweather WBO Title Strip, & More!

07/09/201507/09/2015 Vivek Wallace

Gerald N. (Delray Beach, FL): Both Top Rank and Goldenboy Promotions have initiated lawsuits against Al Haymon and the “Premier Boxing Champions” movement. What are your thoughts and what light can you shed on whether or not these lawsuits hold any weight?

Vivek W. (ESB): At this stage, I think it’s far too early to really know or accurately say “how much weight” the separate lawsuits hold. There’s been a ton of information released, but with respect and integrity for the lawsuits independently, there’s still a ton of things we as fans and media simply don’t know. From the outside looking in, my position all along has been that it’s an uphill battle for the parties pursuing matters, for the simple fact that the man being pursued (Al Haymon) has the absolute allegiance of every fighter on his roster, and each and every last one of them has his back with total support.

continue

Bob Arum Casts Doubt On Brook v Rios / Eddie Hearn Believes It A Go

06/26/2015 Olly Campbell

It has been assumed now for some time that Brandon Rios will be traveling to the UK in September to challenge IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook on the same date Floyd Mayweather fights his 49th and ‘final’ fight – the 12th.

However in a chat with assembled media at the Bradley/Vargas presser, Arum has now spoken out to insinuate the fight perhaps isn’t as near to done as we think.

Earlier this week Rios’ trainer Robert Garcia told fighthype that as far as both he and Brandon were concerned, Rios’ manager Cameron Dunkin had done a solid job negotiating terms and that both fighter and trainer were happy with what was on the table.

continue

Bob Arum: ‘No Catch-Weight For Walters v Lomachenko’

06/17/2015 Olly Campbell

As soon as Jamaica’s Nicholas Walter’s appeared at the weigh in ahead of his WBA 126 lb fight last Saturday against Miguel Marriaga, those in attendance and watching proceedings elsewhere could see immediately that he was drained.

After missing weight and dropping his title on the scales, the fans who had been looking forward to the mooted unification fight with WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko, were left scratching their heads, wondering if it will indeed now happen if the “Axe Man” is no longer able to make the weight and intends on moving up.

continue

If Mayweather Jr. lost to Pacquiao: Bob Arum weighs in

04/08/2015 Vitali Shaposhnikov

Part of the reason that May 2nd is such a colossal event, is mostly due to the fact that for a long time now, boxing enthusiasts believed that only Manny Pacquiao has the right arsenal to beat Floyd Mayweather Jr. Of course aside from their competitive edge, both men have developed very unique personalities over the years, and paired together with their history, they make a great story for the sport of boxing.

One of the more popular questions nowadays, is what would happen if Mayweather Jr. lost the fight?

continue

Arum: “I’m optimistic it will all be put together in the next couple of days”

01/30/2015 Vitali Shaposhnikov

For an unbearably long time, camp Manny Pacquiao was pointing fingers at Floyd Maywether Jr. for delaying, or even avoiding their fight. At the same time, camp Mayweather Jr. were doing the exact same thing, proclaiming that Top Promoter Bob Arum is not letting the fight come to fruition, while Pacquiao is evading certain terms and conditions.

All of this just came to an end, at least for now. In a recent interview with the New York Post, Bob Arum stated that he is now convinced that Mayweather Jr. truly does want this fight to happen: “Based on the meeting with Pacquiao in the hotel suite, Manny and Michael Koncz were convinced Floyd absolutely wants to do the fight.”

continue

Arum: Brandon Rios will only get big fights now

01/25/2015 Rob Smith

Brandon Rios (33-2-1, 24 KOs) came into last night’s fight against Mike Alvarado (34-4, 23 KOs) with his career essentially on the brink of collapse after losses to Manny Pacquiao, Alvarado and question wins over Richard Abril and Diego Chaves. But with his 3rd round stoppage win over a near-frozen Alvarado, Rios’ career has been rejuvenated, at least temporarily.

Rios’ promoter Bob Arum is so excited about his win last night that he’s talking about the 28-year-old Rios getting nothing but big fights from here on out.

continue

Canelo looking at plan B option, Arum offering Tim Bradley

01/17/2015 Jeff Sorby

Mexican star Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (44-1-1, 31 KOs) has about run out of patience in waiting on his opponent WBC middleweight champ Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32 KOs) to sign the contract for a fight against him. Canelo, who is kind of used to getting his own way in negotiations, has told his promoter Oscar De La Hoya, the president of Golden Boy Promotions, that he wants to have him start looking for another opponent for him to fight. Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is saying that Tim Bradley is a possibility for Canelo to fight next.

Bradley is a considerable step down from Cotto, both in size and popularity. Canelo-Bradley isn’t a fight that would be near big enough for the 24-year-old Canelo to boot Floyd Mayweather Jr from the May 2nd fight date that he has his eyes on, so Canelo would need to have an open mind about moving off that date. Canelo has insisted for the past month that he plans on fighting on May 2nd, the Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo.

continue

Arum to stick it out with Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations until the bitter end

01/13/2015 Rob Smith

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says he’s going to stick it out with the negotiations between his fighter Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jr and not nail like he did in 2009 when he attempted to negotiate a fight between the two stars for the first time. For boxing fans who may have forgotten what happened in that situation, Arum quickly pulled Pacquiao out of the negotiations when the two fighters reached a stalemate over the blood testing that Mayweather wanted.

Instead of sticking it out and finishing the negotiations, Arum moved Pacquiao into a fight with one of his stable fighters Joshua Clottey and the fight failed to do impressive numbers like some of Pacquiao’s other fights.

continue

Pacquiao staying at welterweight, says Arum

01/03/2015 Rob Smith

Manny Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach has been doing some talking about Pacquiao potentially moving down in weight to light welterweight to fight a new crop of fighters in that weight class. Roach surmises that Pacquiao’s power will be better at that weight class and that he will be able to start knocking guys out once again.

Pacquiao’s promoter Bob Arum is saying that the Filipino fighter will be staying put at 147. If Arum has the last word then Pacquiao won’t be moving down in weight in 2015. It doesn’t mean that he won’t someday make the move down in weight, but it looks like Arum has other plans for him at welterweight.

continue

Arum: 48 million homes in China watched Pacquiao-Algieri

12/20/2014 Rob Smith

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum says that 48 million homes in China watched the mismatch between Arum’s fighter Manny Pacquiao and little known Chris Algieri last November in their fight from Macao, China. The fight was painfully one-sided from start to finish with Pacquiao beating the hapless Algieri like a drum.

It wasn’t one of the more interesting fights to watch if you’re a fan of competitive matches, but then again we knew it was going to be a mismatch going in so it wasn’t a surprise.

continue