Why are these two men in the International Boxing Hall Of Fame motorcade this past weekend smiling so brightly?
You certainly recognize the older fellow as Manny Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum and you may know the younger one is his stepson, Top Rank president Todd duBoef.
Are they beaming because they know they have a big financial score arising on Nov. 13 when Pacman finally fights Floyd Mayweather.
I made Wednesday a medical day for myself, getting my dental checkup (teeth white and bright), my blood pressure (135 over 84) and my glucose reading (121) taken. So I figured why not take a pause to take Uncle Bob’s temperature? I asked Arum the same questions he gets from all eager scribes. Any news on the Super Bout, Uncle Roberto? “Listen,” Arum said, “there is nothing to say. This falls under the heading of no news is good news.” Arum did not expand on the topic but let’s keep our umbrellas of disappointment down low and try to bask in the hopeful sunshine of optimism as to Floyd-Manny being formally announced soon.
Pete Susens Photo – Beaming Bob Arum, Smiling Todd duBoef parade at Boxing Hall Of Fame They love a parade or is it progress in Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations which Bob Arum and his Number 2 man, stepson Todd duBoef beaming so brightly at Boxing Hall Of Fame inductions in Canastota, NY, this past weekend? (Pete Susens Photo) A few other subjects were broached, including a fading rumor that Sugar Shane Mosley, fresh off his May 1 loss to unbeaten Mayweather, was angling with Golden Boy for a Sept. 18 date at the MGM Grand, likely venue for Floyd-Manny, and battling for that date and venue with Arum’s proposed Juan Manuel Lopez-Rafael Marquez event (Showtime). “I don’t know what they’re doing or not doing on Sept. 18,” Arum said. “But Juan Ma has to win his bout on July 10 against ther rugged Pinoy, Bernabe Concepcion, in Puerto Rico. Concepcion could upset the whole applecart.” “As far as knocking heads with Golden Boy, maybe they wanted the date but their event fell out, I am not sure. But I am sure that we can put Lopez-Marquez either at the MGM Grand or at Thomas & Mack Center. We will keep the Sept. 18 date in Las Vegas.” In recent years, particularly when Oscar de la Hoya was still boxing, Golden Boy more or less owned both the Cinco de Mayo and Mexican Independance Weekend cards at the MGM and/or Mandalay Bay. Arum anticipates liking what he sees Thursday when he zips over to the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles to check on Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., working now under Coach Freddie Roach for his June 26 bout against the defensively-challenged Irish John Duddy. Chavez and Duddy will mix it up in boxing hotbed, San Antonio. “I just got a good report on Chavez from my man, Sean Gibbons.” Finally, I asked about Arum’s Canastota visit which he mainly attended in support of his newly inducted matchmaker, Bruce “Southland” Trampler. “It was very nice,” Arum said. “A lot of great fighters turned out. Dean Chance, the former baseball star, came out for Bruce and the ex-NBA superstar Dolph Schayes was there. He is age 83 now. We both went to NYU as undergrads.” I mark Arum’s Big Fight thermometer reading as quite warm and rising. Now let me take a turn for the nurse.
