The drama surrounding Nonito Donaire, Bob Arum, Golden Boy Promotions and several other parties doesn’t look to be simmering down anytime soon. Moments ago I got off the phone with my colleague Lem Satterfield, who himself had just spoken with Golden Boy’s CEO Richard Schaefer about some disparaging remarks that Arum had hurled towards Donaire and his wife Rachel.
Donaire recently inked a lucrative deal with Golden Boy Promotions after a brief run with Top Rank, yet Arum insists that his contract with the 28-year old Fil-Am fighter is still valid and plans to settle the matter in court. Arum also recently went on record by stating that Filipino fans in general don’t care for Donaire and took some shots at Rachel for her involvement with her husband’s career as even the way she dresses.
Upon catching wind of Arum’s rants, Schaefer erupted with some venom of his own.
“Some people were calling me and asking me if I wanted to make any comments about these recent rants from Bob Arum about Nonito Donaire and Rachel Donaire,” Schaefer told Satterfield. “I haven’t called anybody back but I do want to make a statement. Basically I have been reading these rants from Bob Arum just like everybody else. I really think that it is disgusting to read these very damaging statements from Bob Arum about both Nonito and Rachel.”
Schaefer continued on, taking a few personal digs at Arum.
“As they always say, the true colors always come out. And you know, yet again, Bob Arum shows what kind of low life that he is. Making these derogatory remarks about Rachel’s ‘Young, hip and fashionable style’ just shows you that the dinosaur is out of touch. The bottom line is that these kind of stupid remarks are vicious and uncalled for,” said Arum.
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Schaefer believes that Arum’s resentment towards Rachel is partly due to the fact that she was so involved in her husband’s career and his eventual switch to Golden Boy. Schaefer thinks such talk is foolish.
“There is nothing negative about that,” he continued. “In fact, maybe other wives should take a page out of this book and do the same thing. So for Bob Arum to make comments to the effect that, in the Philippines, the culture calls for women or wives not to engage in this type of positive behavior is further insult to the Filipino women. Really, this is just totally disgusting but not surprising.”
Closing things out, Schaefer took more offense to Arum’s derogatory remarks to Donaire’s stature as a fighter and his insistence that he isn’t a bona fide pay-per-view attraction.
“What fighter wants a promoter who trashes him like this in public? Nonito is not only one of the best and most exciting fighters in the world, but also, you can pretty much ask any media member or any fan. But we believe that and Golden Boy Promotions really believes in him.”
