Top Rank's CEO Bob Arum is quickly reclaiming a position in the heavyweight boxing business.
For years, Arum has stayed away from the biggest division in boxing - but now he co-promotes WBO champion Joseph Parker, has a deal with Andy Ruiz, and recently signed Bryant Jennings.
Jennings (19-2, 10 KOs) will make his Top Rank debut on Saturday night, when he makes his return in Lincoln, Nebraska as part of the Terence Crawford vs. Julius Indongo undercard.
If Jennings dispatches of journeyman Daniel Martz (15-4-1, 12 KOs) in style, then Arum is planning another tuneup bout for him in November or December.
As far as 2018, Arum would like to match him against Parker (23-0, 18 KOs) in an ESPN televised fight - if Parker manages to defeat his mandatory challenger Hughie Fury (20-0, 10 KOs) on September 23 in Manchester, England.
“We were doing a fight in New York and Antonio and James Prince (who co-manages Jennings along with attorney Josh Dubin) brought Jennings to see me,” Arum told veteran scribe Bernard Fernandez. “I really took a liking to him. He’s a very intelligent guy, a clean-living guy. We think that if he goes back on the board, he can develop into a real threat. There’s four titles out there. We can make a run with Jennings in the short term for one of those titles.
“Of course, for (Parker-Jennings) to happen, Parker has to get past Hughie Fury. But if we’re successful with Parker, and successful with Bryant, I would match them in the spring on ESPN.”
Jennings believes a deal to fight Parker would be a very easy one to make.
“You would think so [that a Parker fight can be made],” Jennings said. “Making that fight, to me, is very possible. Don’t be surprised if you see that fight in the next six months to a year.”
