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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Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing

Published

3 days ago

January 19, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Skylar-Lacy-Blocked-for-Lamar-Jackson-Before-Making-his-Mark-in-Boxing

Skylar Lacy, a six-foot-seven heavyweight, returns to the ring on Sunday, Feb. 2, opposing Brandon Moore on a card in Flint, Michigan, airing worldwide on DAZN.

As this is being written, the bookmakers hadn’t yet posted a line on the bout, but one couldn’t be accused of false coloring by calling the 10-round contest a 50/50 fight. And if his frustrating history is any guide, Lacy will have another draw appended to his record or come out on the wrong side of a split decision.

This should not be construed as a tip to wager on Moore. “Close fights just don’t seem to go my way,” says the boxer who played alongside future multi-year NFL MVP Lamar Jackson at the University of Louisville.

A 2021 National Golden Gloves champion, Skylar Lacy came up short in his final amateur bout, losing a split decision to future U.S. Olympian Joshua Edwards. His last Team Combat League assignment resulted in another loss by split decision and he was held to a draw in both instances when stepping up in class as a pro. “In my mind, I’m still undefeated,” says Lacy (8-0-2, 6 KOs). “No one has ever kicked my ass.”

Lacy was the B-side in both of those draws, the first coming in a 6-rounder against Top Rank fighter Antonio Mireles on a Top Rank show in Lake Tahoe, Nevada, and the second in an 8-rounder against George Arias, a Lou DiBella fighter on a DiBella-promoted card in Philadelphia.

Lacy had the Mireles fight in hand when he faded in the homestretch. The altitude was a factor. Lake Tahoe, Nevada (officially Stateline) sits 6,225 feet above sea level. The fight with Arias took an opposite tack. Lacy came on strong after a slow start to stave off defeat.

Skylar will be the B-side once again in Michigan. The card’s promoter, former world title challenger Dmitriy Salita, inked Brandon Moore (16-1, 10 KOs) in January. “A capable American heavyweight with charisma, athleticism and skills is rare in today’s day and age. Brandon has got all these ingredients…”, said Salita in the press release announcing the signing. (Salita has an option on Skylar Lacy’s next pro fight in the event that Skylar should win, but the promoter has a larger investment in Moore who was previously signed to Top Rank, a multi-fight deal that evaporated after only one fight.)

Both Lacy and Moore excelled in other sports. The six-foot-six Moore was an outstanding basketball player in high school in Fort Lauderdale and at the NAIA level in college. Lacy was an all-state football lineman in Indiana before going on to the University of Louisville where he started as an offensive guard as a redshirt sophomore, blocking for freshman phenom Lamar Jackson. “Lamar was hard-working and humble,” says Lacy about the player who is now one of the world’s highest-paid professional athletes.

When Lacy committed to Louisville, the head coach was Charlie Strong who went on to become the head coach at the University of Texas. Lacy was never comfortable with Strong’s successor Bobby Petrino and transferred to San Jose State. Having earned his degree in only three years (a BA in communications) he was eligible immediately but never played a down because of injuries.

Returning to Indianapolis where he was raised by his truck dispatcher father, a single parent, Lacy gravitated to Pat McPherson’s IBG (Indy Boxing and Grappling) Gym on the city’s east side where he was the rare college graduate pounding the bags alongside at-risk kids from the city’s poorer neighborhoods.

Lacy built a 12-6 record across his two seasons in Team Combat League while representing the Las Vegas Hustle (2023) and the Boston Butchers (2024).

For the uninitiated, a Team Combat League (TCL) event typically consists of 24 fights, each consisting of one three-minute round. The concept finds no favor with traditionalists, but Lacy is a fan. It’s an incentive for professional boxers to keep in shape between bouts without disturbing their professional record and, notes Lacy, it’s useful in exposing a competitor to different styles.

“It paid the bills and kept me from just sitting around the house,” says Lacy whose 12-6 record was forged against 13 different opponents.

As a sparring partner, Lacy has shared the ring with some of the top heavyweights of his generation, e.g., Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte. He was one of Fury’s regular sparring partners during the Gypsy King’s trilogy with Deontay Wilder. He worked with Joshua at Derrick James’ gym in Dallas and at Ben Davison’s gym in England, helping Joshua prepare for his date in Saudi Arabia with Francis Ngannou and had previously sparred with Ngannou at the UFC Performance Center in Las Vegas. Skylar names traveling to new places as one of his hobbies and he got to scratch that itch when he joined Whyte’s camp in Portugal.

As to the hardest puncher he ever faced, he has no hesitation: “Ngannou,” he says. “I negotiated a nice price to spend a week in his camp and the first time he hit me I knew I should have asked for more.”

Lacy is confident that having shared the ring with some of the sport’s elite heavyweights will get him over the hump in what will be his first 10-rounder (Brandon Moore has never had to fight beyond eight rounds, having won his three 10-rounders inside the distance). Lacy vs. Moore is the co-feature to Claressa Shields’ homecoming fight with Danielle Perkins. Shields, basking in the favorable reviews accorded the big-screen biopic based on her first Olympic journey (“The Fire Inside”) will attempt to capture a title in yet another weight class at the expense of the 42-year-old Perkins, a former professional basketball player.

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Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce

Published

5 days ago

January 18, 2025

David A. Avila

Mizuki-Hiruta-Dominates-in-her-U.S.-Debut-and-Trinidad-Wins-Too-at-Commerce

Japan’s Mizuki Hiruta smashed through Mexico’s Maribel Ramirez with ease in winning by technical decision and local hero Omar Trinidad continued his assault on the featherweight division on Friday.

Hiruta (7-0, 2 KOs), who prefers to be called “Mimi,” made her American debut with an impressive performance against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez (15-11-4) and retained the WBO super flyweight world title by unanimous decision at Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

The pink-haired Japanese southpaw champion quickly proved to be quicker, stronger and even better than advertised. In the opening round Ramirez landed on the floor twice after throwing errant blows. On one instance, it could have been ruled a knockdown but it was not a convincing blow.

In the second round, Ramirez again attacked and again was met with a Hiruta check right hook and down went the Mexican. This time referee Ray Corona gave the eight-count and the fight resumed.

It was Hiruta’s third title defense but this time it was on American soil. She seemed nervous by the prospect of getting a favorable review from the more than 700 fans inside the casino tent.

For more than a year Hiruta has been training off and on with Manny Robles in the L.A. area. Now that she has a visa, she has spent considerable time this year learning the tricks of the trade. They proved explosively effective.

Though Mexico City’s Ramirez has considerable experience against world champions, she discovered that Hiruta was not easy to hit. Often, the Japanese champion would slip and counter with precision.

It was an impressive American debut, though the fight was stopped in the eighth round after a collision of heads. The scores were tallied and all three saw Hiruta the winner by scores of 80-71 twice and 79-72.

“I’m so happy. I could have done much more,” said Hiruta through interpreter Yuriko Miyata. “I wanted to do more things that Manny Robles taught me.”

Trinidad Wins Too

Omar Trinidad (18-0-1, 13 KOs) discovered that challenger Mike Plania (31-5, 18 KOs) has a very good chin and staying power. But over 10 rounds Trinidad proved to be too fast and too busy for the Filipino challenger.

Immediately it was evident that the East L.A. featherweight was too quick and too busy for Plania who preferred a counter-puncher attack that never worked.

“He was strong,” said Trinidad. “He took everything.”

After 10 redundant rounds all three judges scored for Trinidad 100-90 twice and 99-91. He retains the WBC Continental Americas title.

Other Bouts

Ali Akhmedov (23-1, 17 KOs) blasted out Malcolm Jones (17-5-1) in less than two rounds. A dozen punches by Akhmedov forced referee Thomas Taylor to stop the super middleweight fight.

Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco (3-0) bloodied Lindsey Ellis in the first round and continued the speedy assault in the next two rounds. Referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight in favor of Verduzco at 1:34 of the third round.

Gloria Munguilla (7-1) and Brook Sibrian (5-2) lit up the boxing ring with a nonstop clash for eight rounds in their light flyweight fight. Munguilla proved effective with a slip-and-counter attack. Sibrian adjusted and made the fight closer in the last four rounds but all three judges favored Munguilla.

More Winners

Joshua Anton, Tayden Beltran, Adan Palma, and Alexander Gueche all won their bouts.

Photos credit: Al Applerose

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Published

6 days ago

January 16, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More

Best wishes to the survivors of the Los Angeles wildfires that took place last week and are still ongoing in small locales.

Most of the heavy damage took place in the western part of L.A. near the ocean due to Santa Ana winds. Another very hot spot was in Altadena just north of the Rose Bowl. It was a horrific tragedy.

Hopefully the worst is over.

Pro boxing returns with 360 Boxing Promotions spotlighting East L.A.’s Omar Trinidad (17-0-1, 13 KOs) defending a regional featherweight title against Mike Plania (31-4, 18 KOs) on Friday, Jan. 17, at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, Calif.

“I’m the king of L.A. boxing and I’ll be ready to put on a show headlining again in the main event. This is my year, I’m ready to challenge and defeat any of the featherweight world champions,” said Trinidad.

UFC Fight Pass will stream the Hollywood Night fight card that includes a female world championship fight and other intriguing match-ups.

Tom Loeffler heads 360 Promotions and once again comes full force with a hot prospect in Trinidad. If you’re not familiar with Loeffler’s history of success, he introduced America to Oleksandr Usyk, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and the brothers Wladimir and Vitaly Kltischko.

“We’ve got a wealth of international talent and local favorites to kick off our 2025 in grand style,” said Loeffler.

He knows talent.

Trinidad hails from the Boyle Heights area of East L.A. near the Los Angeles riverbed. Several fighters from the past came from that exact area including the first Golden Boy, Art Aragon.

Aragon was a huge gate attraction during the late 1940s until 1960. He was known as a lady’s man and dated several Hollywood starlets in his time. Though he never won a world title he did fight world champions Carmen Basilio, Jimmy Carter and Lauro Salas. He was more or less the king of the Olympic Auditorium and Los Angeles boxing during his career.

Other famous boxers from the Boyle Heights area were notorious gangster Mickey Cohen and former world champion Joey Olivo.

Can Trinidad reach world title status?

Facing Trinidad will be Filipino fighter Plania who’s knocked off a couple of prospects during his career including Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer and Giovanni Gutierrez. The fighter from General Santos in the Philippines can crack and hold his own in the boxing ring.

It’s a very strong fight card and includes WBO world titlist Mizuki Hiruta of Japan who defends the super flyweight title against Mexican veteran Maribel Ramirez. It’s a tough matchup for Hiruta who makes her American debut. You can’t miss her with that pink hair and she has all the physical tools to make a splash in this country.

Mizukii Hiruta

Two other female bouts are also planned, including light flyweight banger L.A.’s Gloria Munguilla (6-1) against Coachella’s Brook Sibrian (5-1) in a match set for six rounds. Both are talented fighters. Another female fight includes super featherweights Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco (2-0) versus Lindsey Ellis (2-1) in another six-rounder. Ellis can crack with all her wins coming via knockout. Verduzco is a multi-national titlist as an amateur.

Others scheduled to perform are Ali Akhmedov, Joshua Anton, Adan Palma and more.

Doors open at 4:30 p.m.

Boxing and the Media

The sport of professional boxing is currently in flux. It’s always in flux but no matter what people may say or write, boxing will survive.

Whether you like Jake Paul or not, he proved boxing has worldwide appeal with monstrous success in his last show. He has media companies looking at the numbers and imagining what they can do with the sport.

Sure, UFC is negotiating a massive billion dollar deal with media companies, as is WWE, both are very similar in that they provide combat entertainment. You don’t need to know the champions because they really don’t matter. Its about the attractions.

Boxing is different. The good champions last and build a following that endures even beyond their careers a la Mike Tyson.

MMA can’t provide that longevity, but it does provide entertainment.

Currently, there is talk of establishing a boxing league again. It’s been done over and over but we shall see if it sticks this time.

Pro boxing is the true warrior’s path and that means a solo adventure. It’s a one-on-one sport and that appeals to people everywhere. It’s the oldest sport that can be traced to prehistoric times. You don’t need classes in Brazilian Jiujitsu, judo, kick boxing or wrestling. Just show up in a boxing gym and they can put you to work.

It’s a poor person’s path that can lead to better things and most importantly discipline.

Photos credit: Lina Baker

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