The 80-year-old founder and CEO of Top Rank Promotions, Bob Arum, has found his fountain of youth, and it comes in the form of one Floyd "Money" Mayweather.
Arum, who once promoted Mayweather and now detests the 5-division world champion with a passion, fumed at yesterday's press conference to announce the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.-Sergio Martinez pay-per-view bout on September 15.
Addressing the issue of the simultaneous Golden Boy card being held on Showtime, headlined by Saul Alvarez-Josesito Lopez, Arum went off-topic and brought Mayweather into the conversation:
"Now why do you think Schaefer's [Richard Schaefer, Golden Boy CEO] getting all these dates from Showtime? Because he said he's going to bring Mayweather over," Arum told the press. "Well, bulls**t. He ain't, Mayweather ain't leaving HBO."
The aged promoter then turned the topic back to Golden Boy's Alvarez-Lopez main event, which has been widely criticized as a physical mismatch.
"[Alvarez-Lopez] shouldn't be on ESPN...he's [Schaefer] using the Mayweather leverage, and that's where the f*ck it's at," Arum raged.
Meanwhile, the pieces are falling into place for several possible career moves for Mayweather, following his 87-day jail sentence for domestic battery.
The winner of Saturday's Amir Khan-Danny Garcia junior welterweight title bout could become a leading choice for a Mayweather clash, especially if Khan comes out on top. The 25-year-old Brit brings a solid following, a proven ring record, and name recognition to a Mayweather clash-- all factors which make Mayweather-Khan a no-brainer for Golden Boy.
The winner of Alvarez-Lopez on September 15 would also be a top candidate for a high-profile Mayweather bout in the near future. If the heavy favorite, Saul Alvarez, comes out on top against Josesito Lopez, he would bring an immense Mexican following and a legitimate WBC 154 lb. title to Mayweather, who currently holds the WBA 154 lb. belt following May's unanimous decision victory over Miguel Cotto.
Ironically, Mayweather will find himself in a better position than ever upon his release and will find several commercially viable opponents from which to choose.
Eternal rival, Manny Pacquiao, though, is not enjoying that same flexibility. For Pacquiao, only Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez remain-- and neither are commercial blockbusters at this point.
The bad news for fight fans, though, is that Mayweather now has plenty of fresh, marketable opposition lining up in front of him and a Pacquiao bout, if it were ever seriously considered on either end, is pretty much out of the question now.
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Paul Magno was a licensed official in the state of Michoacan, Mexico and a close follower of the sport for more than thirty years. His work can also be found on Fox Sports and The Boxing Tribune. In the past, Paul has done work for Inside Fights, The Queensberry Rules and Eastside Boxing.
Source:
Ben Thompson, BOB ARUM SAYS RICHARD SCHAEFER PROMISED TO DELIVER FLOYD MAYWEATHER TO SHOWTIME, Fighthype.com
