WITH Bob Arum, the universe is in constant motion.
He doesn?t stop at anything.
He busies himself like a bee, so to speak.
He goes for novelties all the time.
Even the death of his son a while back from a mountain jogging accident has not slowed him down a bit.
Work, work and more work seems to be the engine that guns him up to be still, yes, sprightly despite a pair of legs nearing 90.
Take the four-city swing he again correctly calls a promotional tour that Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez are into right now.
It is designed to drum up interest for the Pacquiao-Marquez fight on Nov. 13 (PHL time) in Las Vegas, Nevada.
As if Pacquiao isn?t a world celebrity.
As if Pacquiao is a novice when, in fact, he is more than a world champ.
As if Pacquiao is not the world pound-for-pound king and, as such, he?s boxing?s top draw the last seven years or so.
As if Pacquiao is not the owner of eight world belts in eight different weight categories, which is unprecedented.
With his laurels in boxing, dating back from the days when he was also promoting Muhammad Ali fights, Arum has not stopped at inventing, innovating.
If Nicklaus is the Vatican of golf, Arum is the cathedral of boxing.
If Cubao has its Big Dome in the Smart Araneta Coliseum, boxing has its Big Duke in Arum.
He will, can always, duke it out with anyone, young or old.
Upstart promoter Oscar De La Hoya had so bitterly learned a thing or two on handling boxers when, in 2006, he attempted to cross swords with the master during that celebrated tug-of-war for the rights to Pacquiao?s fights.
After his defeat, De La Hoya would never touch Arum again, not even with a 10-foot pole.
Arum had just presented Pacquiao and Marquez at the Luneta. This week, he?ll bring the two to California, New York and Mexico.
The promotional tours are an Arum original, using Pacquiao as the model. Previous city-hopping sprees had paired Pacman with Diaz, Hatton, Cotto, Cottley, Margarito and Mosley.
Pacquiao had beaten all six. I don?t see any reason why he won?t also beat Marquez. Again.
Ask Arum.
