No one would blame Bob Arum if he were bugged about not being part of Saturday’s super welterweight title fight between champion Oscar De La Hoya and challenger Floyd Mayweather Jr. at MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Until the past couple of years, Arum had promoted the superstars most of their respective careers. He is responsible for much of their success. One could say that Arum put De La Hoya and Mayweather in the position to partake in the biggest money-making fight in history.
But boxing is a tough business, and Arum is no longer promoting either fighter. Is he singing the blues? On the contrary.
“Well, I’ll say this. In a way, obviously, you would like to be involved in the promotion,” Arum said Wednesday. “But it is something to be proud of. Because as a promotional company, we made those two guys. I think if some fighters coming up realize that, they are going to flock to us.
“Even now, top, young fighters around who start with us are the future in the business, like (welterweight champion) Miguel Cotto. So, yeah, it is disappointing, but the fact that we made both of these guys is something to be proud of. Who else can say that?”
Last week in this space, De La Hoya boasted about how much better his fights with Felix Trinidad Jr. and some others would have done on pay-per-view had he, not Arum, been the promoter. Arum was in the Caribbean at the time. He was given the opportunity to answer back Wednesday. But, in somewhat of a terse tone, he refused.
“I’m not going to respond at all to what he said,” Arum said.
Oscar on Floyd
De La Hoya’s fight with Trinidad in 1999 did 1.4 million pay-per-view buys, a record for non-heavyweights. De La Hoya has also done 1 million buys with Bernard Hopkins, 950,000 for his second fight with “Sugar” Shane Mosley and 935,000 for each of his fights with Fernando Vargas and Ricardo Mayorga.
Mayweather, in spite of his 37-0 record and world titles in four weight classes, has yet to crack the 500,000 mark. De La Hoya was asked why last week.
“He has no problem talking,” De La Hoya said, referring to Mayweather’s incessant trash-talking. “You know, that’s his problem. What comes out of his mouth is garbage.”
De La Hoya said an incident that happened years ago suggested to him that Mayweather might also be apathetic about being all that he can be from a business standpoint.
“I remember talking to him, it was me and Sugar Ray Leonard, we were flying on a private jet back from, I think it was the (International) Boxing Hall of Fame,” De La Hoya said. “We were on the same plane together, and we were telling him, `Oh, look, you’re the future and you can be very marketable,’ and this and that.
“And he was just like, `Whatever, I don’t care.’ So his attitude has been keeping him from being a Sugar Ray Leonard the way we had in the 70s.”
The winner will be …
Here it is: Yours truly is picking De La Hoya to win by decision.
That is the official pick, but it would not be surprising to see De La Hoya stop Mayweather late.
Many experts believe that Mayweather is just too good, and that De La Hoya’s well-publicized animosity toward Mayweather won’t help him. But that is why De La Hoya is being picked here to win. When he is in this special frame of mind, he is a different animal. All De La Hoya has to do is land his tremendous left hook to the chin once, and the fight is his.
Other Press-Telegram picks and comments: News editor Dave Weiner – “De La Hoya will get a bogus decision.” … Reporter Hanna Chu – “Oscar, because he has bigger guns.” … Sports editor Joe Haakenson – “Begrudgingly, Mayweather by decision.” … Sports columnist Doug Krikorian – “Mayweather by decision.”
Krikorian has written in his column that if De La Hoya wins, he will move to France. Which makes the prediction of sports writer Dave Felton that much more interesting: “Doug Krikorian better learn to appreciate Jerry Lewis and how to surrender, because De La Hoya will win in a late-round knockout.”
Here are some celebrity picks: Donald Trump (De La Hoya), NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Mayweather), NBA star LeBron James (Mayweather), actor Chris Tucker (De La Hoya), rapper Bow Wow (Mayweather), former NFL star Barry Sanders (Mayweather), actor James Denton (De La Hoya), Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (De La Hoya), Roberto Duran (De La Hoya).
Final presser
At Wednesday’s news conference in Las Vegas, Mayweather said, “I am willing to die on May 5.”
Standing in the back of the room was his father, Floyd Sr., who once again is estranged from his son, as was reported Tuesday in this newspaper.
Floyd Sr. told two veteran reporters that he is coming to the fight, thanks to two tickets given him by De La Hoya.
Chambers faces Guinn
“Fast” Eddie Chambers is on the verge of really making people take notice. The heavyweight from Philadelphia is undefeated at 28-0 (16 KOs) and he has stopped his past three opponents. He is ranked as high as No. 12 by the International Boxing Federation, and is ranked No. 13 by the World Boxing Organization.
The one knock on Chambers is that at 6-foot-1, 215 pounds, he is a small heavyweight by today’s standards. But his speed and boxing ability make him a fighter to be reckoned with. Chambers, 25, will take on Dominick Guinn in the main event Friday at Palms Casino in Las Vegas. Showtime will televise.
Guinn is only 32, but he has not lived up to his potential. He has fought some good opposition in James Toney, Monte Barrett and Sergei Liakhovich, but he lost to all three. Still, Guinn is 28-4-1 with 19 knockouts. And at 6-3 and about 230, Guinn will give Chambers another larger heavyweight with whom to deal. In his last fight, Chambers stopped 248-pound Derrick Rossy in the seventh round.
“Guinn can still be a force in the division, so I will have my work cut out,” said Chambers, who is promoted by Dan Goossen of Goossen Tutor Promotions in Sherman Oaks. “This will be one of my tougher fights, but I need to take these kinds of steps. Guinn is a pretty sound fighter technically.
“I know he will be aggressive early, but I may surprise him by how strong I am inside.”
Cazares meets Perez
Hugo Cazares (24-3-1, 18 KOs) of Mexico will defend his light flyweight title against Wilfrido Perez (23-1-3, 16 KOs) on Friday in a ballroom at MGM Grand. The Spanish-language station Telefutura will televise.
Robert Morales can be reached at (562) 499-1338 or [email protected]
