If ever life’s negative forces appeared to be conspiring against him, a self-test revealing Bob Arum as Covid-positive in mid-September might’ve served as soul-shaking news.
Since the expiration of his promotional company Top Rank’s broadcast deal with ESPN in late July, Arum, 93, and his staff have been reduced to assigning their fighters to other promotions’ cards while negotiating to get back over the air with a platform of its own.
Boxing industry officials have speculated that Top Rank is drowning, left to deteriorate and lose talent as the new Zuffa Boxing - backed by Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh and UFC CEO Dana White - have landed on Paramount+ and will launch its new promotion in January.
Days after Alalshikh and White teamed to stage the first boxing match ever at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium pitting Terence Crawford versus Canelo Alvarez, Arum returned to his Las Vegas home from a round trip to watch his undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue produce a convincing victory by decision over mandatory contender Murodjon Akhmadaliev.
Upon landing, Arum’s wife, Lovee, fell ill with Covid, and the promoter, too, came down positive – for the third time.
“I must say, it knocks you out for a little bit, but it’s not entirely debilitating,” Arum told BoxingScene.
Still, Arum is informed enough to know that those of his age have been hardest hit by the flu that sparked a worldwide pandemic in 2020.
“I know what my age is, but I just never believed that I was more at risk than the average person of any age,” Arum said. “I don’t believe age – in my case – is a factor. I’m in very good health. If I had pulmonary problems like Lovee, I would be more concerned. But I don’t.”
That keeps with Arum’s persistent mindset on so many topics.
Whether through success or adversity, he’s typically on to the next one. The Hall of Fame promoter is fine to let others get bogged down with criticism or grudges of his work.
Arum’s run dates back to the first reign of heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali and continued through the careers of Marvin Hagler, George Foreman, Floyd Mayweather Jnr and Manny Pacquiao. It now extends through the current rise of Xander Zayas, Brian Norman Jnr and Abdullah Mason as current or soon-to-be champions.
“I don’t think you learn that mindset,” Arum believes. “I don’t know where it comes from. But that’s how I’ve always been.”.
So, as he rested at home for just more than a day as the worst of the Covid symptoms struck and subsided, he did not cave into any form of helpless shuddering over what others may have viewed as a doomsday scenario – in both health and business.
“I was never concerned this time that it was dangerous or life threatening,” Arum insisted. “I was never frightened…. wasn’t worried. I was thinking about business, was talking to [staff] about [the broadcast negotiations].”
While Arum declined to identify which broadcaster his company is negotiating with, he expressed confidence that it will become reality as industry sources told BoxingScene to expect an early 2026 debut.
Another source said Top Rank has already planned its first main event, a world title fight. Looking at the company’s roster, new WBO 154lbs champion Zayas, 22, of Puerto Rico appears to be a favorite to lead the debut card after he won his belt atop the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN finale.
“The last thing that ever concerns me is what people out there are thinking about, when I know where we are, and I know what has to be done – and will be done – to reach a solution on a new deal,” Arum told BoxingScene.
“I’m not wringing my hands or even thinking about a calamity. I know we’re doing the right thing and we’ll end up with a deal that will be very profitable for us and enable us to continue doing the shows that we want to do.
“I’m not concerned about the chatter, or what people say or what they imagine. It has no effect on me. If it did, it would paralyze me. It’s something I’ve always instinctively learned – to not worry about what other people are hoping or thinking about my demise. That’s got nothing to do with me. Let them jerk off.”
From Arum’s perspective, there’s too much work to do to waste effort on trivial matters.
“For me, and I don’t want to come across as a know-it-all, I really believe that people who are occupied – no matter what their age – are much better off because they’re not spending all their time thinking about themselves or anything that might worry them … like an affliction,” Arum said.
For now, Top Rank fighters are keeping themselves busy on streamed club shows like one this weekend in Long Beach, California. Later next month, WBO 126lbs titlist Rafael Espinoza will headline a November 15 card in San Luis Postol, Mexico that includes the company’s promising talents, junior-welterweight Emiliano Vargas and heavyweight Richard Torrez Jnr.
Meanwhile, Arum said he’s nearing the achievement of a vision in which he presides over his business performing as it long has, with broadcast deals that have included the major networks and premium cable networks HBO and Showtime.
“I don’t run my business [from a throne],” he said.”I have all these specialists who do this and that and operate with a great deal of independence, and I believe that will continue.”
Arum said it’s possible the new broadcast deal could feature an increase from the 30 annual events Top Rank staged on ESPN and ESPN+.
“We have the first few events picked out and ready to go,” he said. “We’ve done this before … figuring out a way to do something that hadn’t been done in a long, long time.
“Now, the challenge has been, ‘How do you take that, put it on a different platform, and make it even bigger?’”
As his 94th birthday nears in December, Arum intends to see the job through to reality and beyond – no matter what they say.
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
