What Would Top Rank Look Like if Bob Arum Hadn’t Survived Plane Crash?

Published

6 years ago

August 11, 2018

Everyone is familiar with the saying that the only things certain are death and taxes. But there are loopholes in tax codes, allowing those who are smart enough or well-connected enough to escape paying their fair share to the government or, sometimes, anything at all. That leaves death as the one absolute, inescapable fact of life.

We all die whenever God, fate or random circumstance determine that our time on Earth is over. But the Grim Reaper often shows up unexpectedly, snatching lives not fully lived before the about-to-be-dearly-departed have an opportunity to prepare themselves, their loved ones and their legacies for the decedents’ passage into the great unknown. It is that uncertainty that results in some of the most speculative questions ever posed to the public at large. What might have happened if President Abraham Lincoln decided not to attend Ford’s Theater on April 14, 1965, to see a performance of the play “Our American Cousin”? Or nearly a century later had another U.S. President, John F. Kennedy, not shown up in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963?

Top Rank founder and CEO Bob Arum, arguably the most successful boxing promoter ever, is still going strong at the ripe old age of 86. Unlike his longtime arch-rival, Don King, whose once-powerful company has vastly diminished in influence and appears to not have a viable succession plan, Arum (pictured with his stepson Todd duBoef and Shakur Stevenson) continues to look to the future while positioning Top Rank as a dominant force beyond his own still-undetermined life span. As if there were any doubt as to that, Top Rank announced on Aug. 2 that it had replaced its existing four-year contract with ESPN with a new, seven-year deal that both parties are calling “the most comprehensive, exclusive rights agreement in the history of boxing.”

It is another significant building block in the legend of a master wheeler-dealer, a cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School who had never even seen a boxing match before the first fight card he promoted, on March 29, 1966, in which Muhammad Ali defended his world heavyweight championship with a 15-round unanimous decision over gritty but outclassed Canadian George Chuvalo in Toronto. Arum would go on to promote 27 bouts involving Ali, and among the other ring notables that performed in megafights staged by Top Rank are Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Duran, George Foreman, Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Manny Pacquiao and, more recently, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Terence Crawford, regarded by many knowledgeable boxing people as the two best pound-for-pound fighters in the world today.

But what would Top Rank – indeed, the entire boxing industry – look like today had Arum perished along with six others in a fiery crash of a private plane in Big Bear Lake, Calif., on Aug. 13, 2002? Might some of the company’s proudest accomplishments in the 16 years that have followed Arum’s near-brush with death still occurred? Would those suddenly charged with the responsibility of implementing his vision of what was to be carry on as if he were still there and calling the shots?

I would have liked to hear what Arum had to say about the phalanx of what-ifs he surely must have contemplated then, and maybe even now. When faced with the possibility of sudden death, did the events of his life flash through his mind as some in similar situations have stated? Did he fret as to whether his stepson and appointed successor, Todd duBoef, then only 33, had learned enough intricacies of the boxing business to smoothly transition into the company’s foremost position? But my request for Arum to discuss those and other matters, passed along to him by TR publicist Evan Korn, was rejected because, as Korn said, “Bob has said enough about that. He wants to look ahead, not back.”

Fair enough. But Kevin Iole, then with the Las Vegas Review-Journal and now the combat sport writer for Yahoo!Sports, was one of the passengers in the plane that harrowing afternoon, and in addition to his own sense of relief that he survived, he also has considered the ramifications of a boxing landscape prematurely bereft of one of its foremost innovators.

“No doubt,” Iole told me when asked if the fight game as presently constituted would have veered onto another course had Arum died that day. “You’re talking about one of the great promoters of all time, arguably the best ever. If he died then, you have to believe Top Rank would have looked very different, and maybe well into the future.”

Truth be told, all aboard the short, 100-mile flight that day – along with Arum and Iole, the list includes Review-Journal writer Royce Feour, Mandalay Bay executives Scott Voeller and H.C. Rowe, pilot Joseph Topham and co-pilot Craig Terry — are extremely fortunate to be around to tell the tale, or not, of what might have been the final day of their existence.

The purpose of the flight was for Arum, the writers and the Mandalay Bay officials to be on hand for a media gathering hosted by Oscar De La Hoya to hype his Sept. 14, 2002, bout with Fernando Vargas. It was the type of publicity-driven event almost everyone in boxing has attended many times without ever giving the possibility of death a second thought. This time was different, however.

“I did not realize we were crashing, believe it or not,” Iole said. “We had a series of bumps as we were going down, which stopped a little bit, and then a bigger bump because we had crashed through a fence at the end of the runway and crossed the road. There was a truck coming and the nose of the plane actually went underneath it. When we stopped we were in a dry lakebed.

“Royce’s seatbelt was loose, which we knew when we took off, so he was kind of getting thrown back and forth. His head was on my lap and he was just sort of lying there. Before I could even process that, Scott Voeller, who was sitting on the opposite side of the plane from me, one row behind Royce, shouted, `Get off the plane! The wings are on fire!’

“The co-pilot (Terry) tried to open the door with his shoulder. It didn’t work because the door had been knocked out of shape by the crash and was stuck. He tried again, still no go. Then he held onto a railing and sort of drop-kicked the door open. Honestly, I didn’t worry that we might not be able to get off the plane. I didn’t even contemplate that. But after we got off, and started counting people, some of the airport people were showing up and yelling, `Get away from the plane! It’s loaded with fuel!’ It wasn’t until we had moved away maybe 200 feet – really, not that far – when the plane blew up. That’s when I realized, `Holy s—, we all could have been killed.’”

Arum has spoken about the incident, at least for a story authored by Iole on its 10-year anniversary. “We ran away,” he was quoted as saying, “and I think we could have beaten (Olympic sprint champion Usain) Bolt that day.”

Stan Wainhamer of the San Bernadino County Sheriff’s Department gave his take on just how close a call those in the plane had had. “The plane was a ball of fire when it went through that fence,” he said. “They say any time you walk away from a plane crash, you’re lucky. But figure that plane bounced off the runway, that it was on fire when it crossed the road, that it screeched to a stop in the field, and then you look at what’s left of it and you have to say it is miraculous that everyone survived.”

The good fortune that preserved the lives of Arum and the other six individuals – who showed their pluck by getting aboard another private plane later that day for the return flight to Vegas – is underscored by the list of those who were involved in other crashes and did not walk away. Former heavyweight champ Rocky Marciano died in the wreck of a private plane on Aug. 31, 1969; former middleweight titlist Marcel Cerdan, en route to New York to gear up for a rematch with the man who dethroned him, Jake LaMotta, never made it there when his plane went down in the Azores on Oct. 27, 1949; all 14 members of a U.S. amateur boxing team perished in a crash in Warsaw, Poland, on March 14, 1980, and three key executives of the Trump organization (Mark Etess, Stephen Hyde and Jonathan Benanav and two crew members) were killed in a helicopter crash on Oct. 10, 1989, as they were en route from New York City to Atlantic City for a press conference to announce the Feb. 3, 1990, bout between junior welterweights Vinny Pazienza and Hector Camacho at Trump Plaza.

Bernie Dillon, then an executive with the Trump organization, now vice president of entertainment at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, can appreciate the terrible impact Arum’s premature death might have had on Top Rank because he saw what happened to Donald Trump’s boxing operation when that helicopter plummeted to earth.

“I think that boxing in Atlantic City would have been in a much better state for much longer than it was, as things turned out,” Dillon said. “Those talented individuals would have been a part of bringing some of the bigger fights (to Atlantic City), but there’s no way that any one company or group of people could have reversed for long a trend that already had begun. The sport back then was not nearly what it had been, or is now.”

Death and boxing are as linked as death and just about anything else. Good times ebb and flow, as do the bad times. And human existence, as always, is a tenuous proposition and just a part of the equation.

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Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

Published

2 days ago

November 3, 2024

David A. Avila

Floyd-Schofield-Wins-a-Banger-and Gabriella-Fundora-Wins-by-KO

Floyd Schofield Wins a Banger and Gabriela Fundora Wins by KO

LAS VEGAS-Shades of Henry Armstrong and Baby Arizmendi. If you don’t know those names, look them up.

Floyd Schofield battled his way past Mexico’s super tough Rene Tellez Giron who walked through every blow the Texan could fire but lost by decision on Saturday.

It was a severe test and perfect matchmaking for Schofield who yearns for the big bouts against the lightweight giants roaming the world.

Schofield (18-0, 12 KOs) remains undefeated and won the war over thick-necked Mexican Tellez Giron (20-4, 13 KOs) who has never been knocked out and proved to be immune to big punches.

In the opening rounds, the Texas fighter came out firing rapid combinations from the southpaw and orthodox stances. Meanwhile the shorter Tellez Giron studied and fired back an occasional counter for two rounds.

Tellez Giron had seen enough and took his stand in the third stanza. Both unleashed blazing bombs with Schofield turning his back to the Mexican. At that moment referee Tom Taylor could have waved the fight over.

You never turn your back.

The fight resumed and Schofield was damaged. He tried to open up with even more deadly fire but was rebuked by the strong chin of Tellez Giron who fired back in the mad frenzy.

For the remainder of the fight Schofield tried every trick in his arsenal to inflict damage on the thick-necked Mexican. He could not be wobbled. In the 11^th round both opened up with serious swing-from-the-heels combinations and suddenly Schofield was looking up. He beat the count easily and the two remained slugging it out.

“He hit me with a good shot,” Schofield said of the knockdown. “I just had to get up. I’m not going to quit.”

In the final round Schofield moved around looking for the proper moment to engage. The Mexican looked like a cat ready to pounce and the two fired furious blows. Neither was hit with the big bombs in the last seconds.

There was Tellez Giron standing defiantly like Baby Arizmendi must have stood in those five ferocious meetings against the incomparable Henry Armstrong. Three of their wars took place in Los Angeles, two at the Olympic Auditorium in the late 1930s as the U.S. was emerging from the Great Depression.

In this fight, Schofield took the win by unanimous decision by scores 118-109 twice and 116-111. It was well-deserved.

“I tried to bang it out,” said Schofield. “Today I learned you can’t always get the knockout.”

Fundora

IBF flyweight titlist Gabriela Fundora needed seven rounds to figure out the darting style of Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz before firing a laser left cross down the middle to end the battle and become the undisputed flyweight world champion.

Fundora now holds all four titles including the WBO, WBA and WBC titles that Alaniz brought in the ring.

Fundora knocked down Alaniz midway through the seventh round. She complained it was due to a tangle of the legs. Several seconds later Fundora blasted the Argentine to the floor again with a single left blast. This time there was no doubt. Her corner wisely waved a white towel to stop the fight at 1:40 of the seventh round.

No one argued the stoppage.

Other Bouts

Bektemir Melikuziev (15-1, 10 KOs) didn’t make weight in a title bout but managed to out-fight David Stevens (14-2, 10 KOs) in a super middleweight fight held at 12 rounds.

Melikuziev used his movement and southpaw stance to keep Pennsylvania’s Stevens from being able to connect with combinations. But Stevens did show he could handle “The Bully’s” punching power over the 12-round fight.

After 12 rounds one judge favored Stevens 116-112, while two others saw Melikuziev the winner by split decision 118-110 and 117-111.

Super middleweight WBA titlist Darius Fulghum (13-0, 11 KOs) pummeled his way to a technical knockout win over southpaw veteran Chris Pearson (17-5-1, 12 KOs) who attempted the rope-a-dope strategy to no avail.

Fulghum floored Pearson in the first round with a four-punch combination and after that just belted Pearson who covered up and fired an occasional blow. Referee Mike Perez stopped the fight at 1:02 of the third round when Pearson did not fire back after a blazing combination.

Young welterweight prospect Joel Iriarte (5-0, 5 KOs) blasted away at the three-inch shorter Xavier Madrid (5-6, 2 KOs) who hung tough for as long as possible. At 2:50 of the first round a one-two delivered Madrid to the floor and referee Thomas Taylor called off the beating.

Iriarte, from Bakersfield, Calif., could not miss with left uppercuts and short rights as New Mexico’s Madrid absorbed every blow but would not quit. It was just too much firepower from Iriarte that forced the stoppage.

Photos credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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Results and Recaps from Turning Stone where O’Shaquie Foster Nipped Robson Conceicao

Published

2 days ago

November 2, 2024

Arne K. Lang

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Top Rank was at the Turning Stone casino-resort in Verona, New York, tonight with an 8-bout card topped by a rematch between Robson Conceicao and O’Shaquie Foster with the victor retaining or recapturing his IBF world junior lightweight title. When the smoke cleared, the operative word was “recapturing” as Foster became a two-time title-holder, avenging his controversial setback to the Brazilian in Newark on July 6.

This was a somewhat better fight than their initial encounter and once again the verdict was split. Foster prevailed by 115-113 on two of the cards with the dissenting judge favoring Conceicao by the same margin. Conceicao seemingly had the edge after nine frames, but Foster, a 4/1 favorite, landed the harder shots in the championship rounds.

It was the thirteenth victory in the last 14 starts for Foster who fights out of Houston. A two-time Olympian and 2016 gold medalist, the 36-year-old Conceicao is 19-3-1 overall and 1-3-1 in world title fights.

Semi-wind-up

SoCal lightweight Raymond Muratalla (22-0, 17 KOs) made a big jump in public esteem and moved one step closer to a world title fight with a second-round blast-out of Jose Antonio Perez who was on the canvas twice but on his feet when the fight was stopped at the 1:24 mark of round two. Muratalla, a product of Robert Garcia’s boxing academy, is ranked #2 by the WBC and WBO. A Tijuana native, Perez (25-6) earned this assignment with an upset of former Olympian and former 130-pound world titlist Jojo Diaz,

Other Bouts

Syracuse junior welterweight Bryce Mills, a high-pressure fighter with a strong local following, stopped scrawny Mike O’Han Jr whose trainer Mark DeLuca pulled him out after five one-sided rounds. Mills improved to 17-1 (6 KOs). It was another rough day at the office for Massachusetts house painting contractor O’’Han (19-4) who had the misfortune of meeting Abdullah Mason in his previous bout.

In a junior lightweight fight that didn’t heat up until late in the final round, Albany’s Abraham Nova (23-3-1) and Tijuana native Humberto Galindo (14-3-3) fought to a 10-round draw. It was another close-but-no- cigar for the likeable Nova who at least stemmed a two-fight losing streak. The judges had it 97-93 (Galindo), 96-94 (Nova) and 95-95.

Twenty-one-year-old Long Island middleweight Jahi Tucker advanced to 13-1-1 (6 KOs) with an eighth-round stoppage of Stockton’s teak-tough but outclassed Quilisto Madera (14-6). Madera was on a short leash after five rounds, but almost took it to the final bell with the referee intervening with barely a minute remaining in the contest. Madera was on his feet when the match was halted. Earlier in the round, Tucker had a point deducted for hitting on the break.

Danbury, Connecticut heavyweight Ali Feliz, one of two fighting sons of journeyman heavyweight Fernely Feliz, improved to 4-0 (3) with a second-round stoppage of beefy Rashad Coulter (5-5). Feliz had Coulter pinned against the ropes and was flailing away when the bout was halted at the 1:34 mark. The 42-year-old Coulter, a competitor in all manner of combat sports, hadn’t previously been stopped when competing as a boxer.

Featherweight Yan Santana dominated and stopped Mexico’s Eduardo Baez who was rescued by referee Charlie Fitch at the 1:57 mark of round four. It was the 12^th knockout in 13 starts for Santana, a 24-year-old Dominican father of three A former world title challenger, Mexicali’s Baez declines to 23-7-2 but has lost six of his last eight.

In his most impressive showing to date, Damian Knyba, a six-foot-seven Pole, knocked out paunchy Richard Lartey at the 2:10 mark of round three. A right-left combination knocked Lartey into dreamland, but it was the right did the damage and this was of the nature of a one-punch knockout. Referee Ricky Gonzalez waived the fight off without starting a count.

Knyba, 28, improved to 14-0 (8 KOs). A native of Ghana coming off his career-best win, a fourth-round stoppage of Polish veteran Andrzej Wawrzyk, Lartey declined to 16-7 with his sixth loss inside the distance.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 303: Spotlights on Lightweights and More

Published

3 days ago

November 1, 2024

David A. Avila

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Those lightweights.

Whether junior lights, super lights or lightweights, it’s the 130-140 divisions where most of boxing’s young stars are found now or in the past.

Think Oscar De La Hoya, Sugar Shane Mosley and Floyd Mayweather.

Floyd Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) a Texas product, hungers to be a star and takes on Mexico’s Rene Tellez Giron (20-3, 13 KOs) in a 12-round lightweight bout on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada.

DAZN will stream the Golden Boy Promotion card that includes a female undisputed flyweight championship match pitting Argentina’s Gabriela Alaniz and Gabriela Fundora.

Like a young lion looking to flex, Schofield (pictured on the left) is eager to meet all the other young lions and prove they’re not equal.

“I’ve been in the room with Shakur, Tank. I want to give everyone a good fight. I feel like my preparation is getting better, I work hard, I’ve dedicated my whole life to this sport,” said Schofield naming fellow lightweights Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

Now he meets Mexico’s Tellez who has never been stopped.

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes,” said Tellez.

Even in Las Vegas.

Verona, New York

Meanwhile, in upstate New York, a WBC junior lightweight title rematch finds Robson Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) looking to prove superior to former titlist O’Shaquie Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) on Saturday, Nov. 2, at the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, N.Y. ESPN+ will stream the Top Rank fight card.

Last July, Conceicao and Foster clashed and after 12 rounds the title changed hands from Foster to the Brazilian by split decision.

“I feel that a champion is a fighter who goes out there and doesn’t run around, who looks for the fight, who tries to win, and doesn’t just throw one or two punches and then moves away,” said Conceicao.

Foster disagrees.

“I hope he knows the name of the game is to hit and not get hit. That’s the name of the game,” said Foster.

Also on the same card is lightweight contender Raymond Muratalla (21-0, 16 KOs) who fights Mexico’s Jesus Perez Campos (25-5, 18 KOs).

Perez recently defeated former world champion Jojo Diaz last February in California.

“We’re made for challenges. I like challenges,” said Perez.

Muratalla likes challenges too.

“I think these fights are the types of fights I need to show my skills and to prove I deserve those title fights,” said Fontana’s Muratalla.

Female Undisputed Flyweight Championship

WBA, WBC and WBO flyweight titlist Gabriela “La Chucky” Alaniz (15-1, 6 KOs meets IBF titlist Gabriela Fundora (14-0, 6 KOs) on Saturday Nov. 2, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada. DAZN will stream the clash for the undisputed flyweight championship.

Argentina’s Alaniz clashed twice against former WBA, WBC champ Marlen Esparza with their first encounter ending in a dubious win for the Texas fighter. In fact, three of Esparza’s last title fights were scored controversially.

But against Alaniz, though they fought on equal terms, Esparza was given a 99-91 score by one of the judges though the world saw a much closer contest. So, they fought again, but the rematch took place in California. Two judges deemed Alaniz the winner and one Esparza for a split-decision win.

“I’m really happy to be here representing Argentina. We are ready to fight. Nothing about this fight has to do with Marlen. So, I hope she (Fundora) is ready. I am ready to prepare myself for the great fight of my life,” said Alaniz.

In the case of Fundora, the extremely tall American fighter at 5’9” in height defeated decent competition including Maria Santizo. She was awarded a match with IBF flyweight titlist Arely Mucino who opted for the tall youngster over the dangerous Kenia Enriquez of Mexico.

Bad choice for Mucino.

Fundora pummeled the champion incessantly for five rounds at the Inglewood Forum a year ago. Twice she battered her down and the fight was mercifully stopped. Fundora’s arm was raised as the new champion.

Since that win Fundora has defeated Christina Cruz and Chile’s Daniela Asenjo in defense of the IBF title. In an interesting side bit: Asenjo was ranked as a flyweight contender though she had not fought in that weight class for seven years.

Still, Fundora used her reach and power to easily handle the rugged fighter from Chile.

Immediately after the fight she clamored for a chance to become undisputed.

“It doesn’t get better than this, especially being in Las Vegas. This is the greatest opportunity that we can have,” said Fundora.

It should be exciting.

Fights to Watch

Sat. ESPN+ 2:50 p.m. Robson Conceicao (19-2-1) vs O’Shaquie Foster (22-3).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Floyd Schofield (17-0) vs Rene Tellez Giron (20-3); Gabriela Alaniz (15-1) vs Gabriela Fundora (14-0).

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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