Arum returns to head of the 5 families of boxing
With Kelly Pavlik’s whackout of made-man Jermain Taylor, Top Rank Godfather Bob Arum takes his seat back at the head of the promoters table.
Look at Arum’s Triple Hitter lineup: Puncher Pavlik, Mr. Excitement Pacquaio and Perpetual Boricua Motion Miguel Cotto! That’s Three of an Unusual Kind, three staight up thrillgivers!
With the recent media scandal involving Oscar DeLaHoya, DK being out of big names, Gary Shaw now dabbling in both boxing and MMA and DiBella losing his star hitman, Arum is back as boss of bosses. Pavlik is the kind of fighter people want to see and Arum knows how to give the people what they want.
The only thing missing is Arum’s long time strong arm Jay Edson. “The late great” Edson was a take-no-crap kind of guy who believed in calling an “s.o.b” a “s.o.b” to person’s face rather than behing their back. Watching HBO’s HighDef double header on Saturday night I could not help but imagine Edson rolling over in his grave with all those hangers-on roving the ring. I had the pleasure of working with Edson on a couple occasions throughout the years and one thing was for sure, if you did not have any real business in the ring, you would not be in there. I dont care who you knew and who you thought you were, “not working the corner, GET OUT!”
Its no wonder these days the TV cameras don’t bother to focus on the ring announcer with so many people try to weasel in directly behind the announcer. Thomas Hearns was always known to have, without question, the biggest entourage in the history of boxing, but the rough and tough Motor City crowd was no match for Edson. Think I am kidding? Take a look at how clear the ring was during the pre-fight intro of Hearns vs Hagler as Edson pushed out anyone who tried to weasel in.
I have no beefs with the entourage of a fighter, but unless you have a LEGIT purpose to be in the ring (like your actually working the corner or you are the promoter of record) step down and enjoy the fight from ringside. NO ONE CARES TO SEE YOUR MUG ON TV! NOT EVEN YOUR PEOPLE YOU ARE BRAGGING TO!
