Los Angeles ? It was business as usual for Bob Arum in his Top Rank office in Las Vegas on Tuesday as the Hall of Fame promoter attended to other urgent things following the hectic schedule the previous week.
With his star boxer Manny Pacquiao declaring that Saturday night?s rousing victory over Tim Bradley was his final fight, the 84-year-old Arum knows from his half-century of promoting how things are in boxing.
Fighters come and go.
But the retirement of Pacquiao, who was a dominant force over the last 10 years, will be hard to accept, the Filipino, after all, kept the cash register ringing.
Sure, the financial windfall went both ways. Pacquiao attained riches unheard of in Philippine sports history.
The icing on the cake, of course, was the mega fight with Floyd Mayweather Jr. last May where Pacquiao reportedly brought home more than $200 million.
?As far as I?m concerned he?s retired,? said Arum, who began promoting Pacquiao in 2004.
For both Pacquiao and Arum, the river of money has dried up.
?You gotta move on,? Arum said, unsure whether the 37-year-old box-office king will have a change of heart. ADVERTISING inRead invented by Teads
?Let me know when he changes his mind,? Arum said, his voice taking a high pitch.
Now that Pacquiao is retired, Arum will focus on the stars on the rise and there is plenty of promise with somebody like Mexican Oscar Valdez, who put on quite a show in the undercard, leading the charge.
But deep in his heart, Arum knows he won?t see another Pacquiao ever again.
Meanwhile, a motorcade is being arranged when Pacquiao arrives in Manila Thursday morning from Los Angeles and it?ll likely be the last assuming he decides to stay retired.
On Friday, Pacquiao will immediately buckle down to work to catch up on his senatorial bid, said the star fighter?s wife Jinkee.
?Simula na ng matinding (campaign) schedule,? said Jinkee, who was joined at the Tom Bradley International lounge by her five kids.
