Twice a year or more the Manny Pacquiao show hits Hollywood like one of the many spectacular movie premieres that occurred yesteryear, but scarcely today.
No longer is it Charlie Chaplin, Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor that open to klieg lights splattering the night sky. Today, it?s Pacquiao and his entourage walking through an army of well-wishers, autograph hounds and media members packing the Wild Card Boxing gym.
One person familiar with both eras is Bob Arum, the president of Top Rank who knows a thing or two about promoting.
In his vast experience he?s tinkered, pampered and propelled the careers of Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler, Oscar De La Hoya and now he has Pacman.
With the Filipino superstar Arum?s experience widened to include Asia for the first time as he traveled to the Philippine Islands on several promotion junkets. Once again the Las Vegas resident showed the world how to promote a fighter, even one from Asia.
Easy stuff for Arum.
Didn?t he show the world he could promote Mexican fighters? He conquered that dilemma and now he?s conquered the Philippines. He?s probably better known in that island country than here in the U.S.
?Everybody in the Philippines knows me,? said Arum while at the media day
