I HAVE no qualms about Top Rank promoting Manny Pacquiao. Bob Arum has been in the business for three decades and his track record of promoting and producing superstars is impeccable. Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler, George Foreman, and of course, Oscar de la Hoya are just a few of the names that have graced Top Rank’s banner.
This guy is so good in guiding careers he could probably convince Butterbean to shed off 200 pounds to campaign as a junior flyweight if the latter put his heart and weight into it (pun intended). In the world of pro boxing, only Don King rivals him in that aspect (that guy could sell binoculars to a blind man, but that’s another story).
The mud-slinging between Arum’s alleged lackey Michael Koncz and Freddie Roach, the revered boxing trainer, revealed many dimensions to the issue but at the end of the day, Manny has made his choice and we all have to respect it.
To my mind, what cinched it was the protective legal umbrella offered by Top Rank that allegedly insulates Manny from liability for any damages that may be awarded if and when Golden Boy Promotions (GBP) emerges victorious in the lawsuit it filed for torturous interference. As a lawyer, I know for a fact that the promise of immunity from any liability is what is foremost in a prospective litigant’s mind.
But what I do lament is the wasted opportunity for Manny to be part of the future of boxing. In casting his lot with Top Rank, Pacquiao is clinging to the past, and he may have missed the last flight out. Make no mistake about it, Golden Boy Promotions is the runaway juggernaut making a mad dash towards boxing’s future.
You see, were it not for Bob Arum’s deeper pockets, the promotional heavyweight now is actually Golden Boy Promotions and not Top Rank. Erik Morales was Top Rank’s flagship fighter. His terrible demise left the company without an established superstar and thus, the mad scramble to sign up Manny.
A visit at Top Rank’s website will reveal only three boxers on its roster capable of raking in pay per view numbers: Miguel Cotto, Jose Luis Castillo, and Antonio Margarito. Popular, but not quite. The rest of the motley crew include Jorge Arce, Brian Viloria, Zahir Raheem, Martin Castillo, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. No superstars there either; at least not yet.
What about Kid Diamond, Joshua Clottey, and Hasim Rahman? Uh-huh. Please allow me a moment to take a swig of Colt 45 to wash away the bad taste in my mouth.
Contrast that to GBP’s Oscar dela Hoya, Bernard Hopkins, Shane Mosely, Marco Antonio Barrera, Winky Wright, Diego Corrales, Juan Manuel Marquez- all name fighters, each capable of single-handedly headlining any major card anywhere in the world, and you have an idea of who actually is the Nikolay Valuev of boxing promotions.
Another salivating option that Manny failed to take into account is the possibility of being part of GBP not as a fighter but as a partner, similar to the deals that were offered to Hopkins, Mosely and Barrera. GBP has signed up fellow Filipinos Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista, Z Gorres and Gerry Pe?alosa. With the aggressive recruitment going on, the rest of Asia can’t be too far behind.
Right now Manny has a stable of fighters under MP Promotions. A partnership with de la Hoya could have made him head of Golden Boy Asia, thus leaving him several lucrative options long after his fighting days are over. Can Top Rank offer him that? I don’t think so.
Worse, Bob Arum is 75 years old, and he has already publicly announced that he is abdicating control of the day-to- day operations to son-in-law Todd DuBoef. This is precisely the danger I’m talking about. Top Rank is largely a one- man show. The fact that it had to take a 75-year-old guy who is no longer in charge of day-to-day operations to travel all the way to General Santos City to sign up a marquee fighter, speaks volumes about what would happen to Top Rank with Bob Arum gone.
THE LAST ROUND. This year’s last round is on you my dear readers for your overwhelming response to this column. As a result, the Last Round will now appear twice a week, Tuesdays and Saturdays, starting next year. Life is a boxing match and I thank you for being in my corner. Cheers!
