Bob Arum is about to hit another landmark in what has been a landmark year for the Brooklyn-born Hall of Fame promoter.
On March 29, Arum celebrated the 50th anniversary of the first event he ever promoted — the battle for the Heavyweight Championship of the World between Muhammad Ali and George Chuvalo.
Next week, Saturday, November 26, at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Arum will present his 2,000th event — the World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior lightweight title fight between undefeated two-division world champion VASYL LOMACHENKO and undefeated former world champion NICHOLAS “Axe Man” WALTERS. It will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing®, beginning at 10:35 p.m. ET/PT. The following week, Arum will fly to New Zealand where he will celebrate his 85th birthday on December 8, and two days later sit ringside watching undefeated heavyweight contender Andy Ruiz attempt to become Mexico’s first heavyweight champion when he battles Joseph Parker for the vacant WBO title. Also on December 10, undefeated World Junior Welterweight Champion and top-rated pound-for-pound fighter TERENCE “Bud” CRAWFORD will make the first defense of his unified WBO / World Boxing Council (WBC) / Ring magazine 140-pound world titles when he rumbles with one-time world title challenger and current No. 1 contender JOHN MOLINA JR at CenturyLink Center Omaha. That fight will also be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing, beginning at 9:35 p.m. ET/PT.
“When I promoted my first fight my accountants were still using roman numerals,” said Arum. “It’s been quite an adventure.”
Here are a few of Arum’s observations from his first 50 years in boxing as previously reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
ARUM’S FAVORITE FIGHTERS
Longtime fight promoter Bob Arum has worked with thousands of fighters in his 50 years in the boxing business. Here are his top five fighters he has worked with:
1. Muhammad Ali. “He was a world figure. People loved him wherever he went. But he was also a great fighter.”
2. Manny Pacquiao. “His life story is amazing. He came from virtually nothing to captivate an entire country.”
3. Marvin Hagler. “He was the most loyal, standup guy I ever worked with. A tremendous fighter with great resolve.”
4. George Foreman. “He changed his persona and had such a big impact on our culture. He became the most loveable guy.”
5. Floyd Mayweather Jr. “He had extraordinary ability and he backed it up in the ring.”
Arum’s next five: Sugar Ray Leonard, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran, Oscar De La Hoya and Alexis Arguello.
ARUM’S TOP FIVE PROMOTIONS
Bob Arum lists the top five promotions he was involved in:
1. Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Marvin Hagler, 1987, Caesars Palace. “It was the Yuppie (Leonard) vs. the Blue collar guy (Hagler.) It was a great fight that did extremely well.
2. Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns, 1985, Caesars Palace. “That was the first time we did a cross-country tour. We had two planes and made 26 stops. It took that fight to another level and by the time they got in the ring, they were so sick of each other they literally wanted to kill each other.”
3. Oscar De La Hoya vs. Felix Trinidad, 1999, Mandalay Bay. “It was the first major Mexico vs. Puerto Rico fight, even though Oscar was American and from East LA. Don King had Trinidad and we had Oscar and there was a lot of back-and-forth between the two sides.”
4. Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier II, 1974, Madison Square Garden. “Ali got his revenge for losing the first fight and I remember the two of them getting into it while being interviewed oin television by Howard Cosell. That helped sell the rematch.”
5. Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao, 2015, MGM Grand Garden. “We never had anything like it. The numbers were incredible, even though the fight wasn’t.”
Attached, please find 50 years of interesting stats on Arum and Top Rank, compiled by Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler, which includes Friday’s UniMás / Univision Deportes show in Kissimmee, and next week’s show at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas — No. 2000.
TOP RANK – By the Numbers thru 11/26//2016… and counting
Over half a century ago, Bob Arum promoted his first fight when Muhammad Ali defended his world heavyweight title against George Chuvalo in Toronto on March 29, 1966. Here’s a statistical update of the 50-year career of the Top Rank chairman, compiled by Top Rank matchmaker/historian Bruce Trampler:
2,000 Fight cards promoted by TR
767 Boxing shows TR promoted on ESPN network
593 World title fights promoted by TR
506 Boxing shows TR promoted in Nevada
410 Boxing shows TR promoted in New Jersey
215 American cities in which TR has promoted
172 Boxing shows promoted by TR in California
147 Boxing shows promoted by TR in Texas
126 Boxing shows TR promoted on HBO network
98 Boxing shows promoted by TR on CBS network
91 Foreign or international cities in which TR has promoted
73 Boxing shows TR promoted on ABC network
67 Boxing shows promoted by TR in Arizona
62 Boxing shows promoted by TR in Puerto Rico
60 Boxing shows promoted by TR in New York State
46 Boxing shows promoted by TR in Illinois
52 Boxing shows promoted by TR in Mexico
48 Pay-per-view boxing shows promoted by TR
42 States in which TR has promoted boxing
41 Miguel Cotto fights promoted by TR
38 Michael Carbajal fights promoted by TR
37 Oscar De la Hoya fights promoted by TR
37 Donald Curry fights promoted by TR
37 Boxing shows promoted by TR in Pennsylvania
36 Johnny Tapia fights promoted by TR
35 Floyd Mayweather, Jr fights promoted by TR
34 Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr fights promoted by TR
33 James Toney fights promoted by TR
32 Erik Morales fights promoted by TR
Top Rank by the Numbers / page 2
31 Micky Ward fights promoted by TR
30 Boxing shows promoted by TR on Showtime/ShoBox networks
28 Iran Barkley fights promoted by TR
27 Muhammad Ali fights promoted or co-promoted by TR
28 Boxing shows promoted by TR in Florida
27 Boxing shows promoted by TR on Closed-Circuit TV
26 Foreign countries in which TR has promoted, plus Puerto Rico
25 Freddie Roach fights promoted by TR
25 Boxing shows promoted by TR on closed-circuit TV
25 Roger Mayweather fights promoted by TR
24 Boxing shows promoted by TR in New Mexico
22 World heavyweight title fights promoted by TR
20 Marvelous Marvin Hagler fights promoted by TR
20 Manny Pacquiao fights promoted by TR
19 Juan Manuel Marquez fights promoted by TR
14 George Foreman fights promoted by TR
13 Thomas Hearns fights promoted by TR
14 Boxing shows promoted by TR in China
10 Alexis Arguello fights promoted by TR
10 Ray (Boom Boom) Mancini fights promoted by TR
9 Boxing shows promoted by TR in Colorado
8 Roberto Duran fights promoted by TR
7 Sugar Ray Leonard fights promoted by TR
7 Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr fights by TR
7 Vito Antuofermo fights promoted by TR
5 Carlos Monzon fights promoted by TR
5 Emile Griffith fights promoted by TR
4 Mike Tyson fights promoted by TR
2 Larry Holmes fights promoted by TR
1 Snake River Canyon jump Evel Knievel promoted by Bob Arum
0 Boxing shows (so far!) promoted by TR in: Alabama, Alaska,
Arkansas, Kansas, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Wyoming
COUNTRIES IN WHICH BOB ARUM HAS PROMOTED …
Argentina
Australia
Bahamas
Belgium
Canada
China
Colombia
England
France
Germany
Holland
Hong Kong
Indonesia
Ireland
Italy
Japan
Macao
Mexico
Monaco
New Zealand
Panama
Philippines
Puerto Rico
Sicily
Spain
South Africa
