Robert Arum (born December 8, 1931) is an American lawyer and boxing promoter. He is the founder and CEO of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas. Prior to becoming a boxing promoter, Arum was employed as an attorney in the tax division of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Background and early life
Arum was born in the New York City borough of Brooklyn. He grew up in the Crown Heights section of New York, with an Orthodox Jewish background.Gurock, Jeffrey S. Judaism's Encounter with American Sports. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2005. Print. p 159.
Education and legal career He attended Erasmus Hall High School, New York University, then Harvard Law School with fellow students recalled as "snooty guys from the prep schools and the eating clubs,"Mulamud, Allan "Arum Unique at Reunion of His Harvard Law Class", Los Angeles Times, June 5, 1996. Retrieved August 23, 2018. where he was graduated cum laude.Ziegel, Vic. "And in This Corner... Robert Arum." New York Magazine August 28, 1978: 51. He worked as an attorney in the United States Department of Justice during the Kennedy administration, and had little interest in boxing until 1965.Berkow, Ira. "ARUM IS PROVEN RINGMASTER", The New York Times, April 7, 1987. Accessed December 3, 2007. "Why not? After five months since the signing for the fight, the man who came from Brooklyn, who went to Erasmus Hall High School, New York University and Harvard Law School, and who worked as a taxation expert on Wall Street, for the District Attorney's office in New York City, in the Justice Department during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, and who until 1965 had no interest in boxing– in two guys clubbing each other over the head –was about to make a profit for himself of somewhere between $3 million and $6 million."
Following the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy and his Justice Department service under Robert F. Kennedy; Arum joined Wall Street law firm Phillips, Nizer, Benjamin, Krim & Ballon, where he researched Kennedy's assassination for senior partner Louis Nizer, author of the foreword to the Warren Commission Report.Iole, Kevin "Boxing promoter Bob Arum thinks JFK was assassinated on behalf of Fidel Castro", Yahoo Sports, November 18, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2018.
In 1963, as a prosecutor for the Department of Justice, Arum's work led to the indictment of the president of the Washington Heights Savings and Loan Association, Floyd Cramer, for leading a mortgage tax-evasion scheme. Cramer committed suicide hours after being indicted, at which time Arum recalled, "What kind of person causes another man to take his own life? I was ashamed. I knew then that I wasn't cut out to be a prosecutor". Arum continued to practice civil law until dissolving his office in 1979.Mannix, Chris "Arum, one of boxing's most powerful promoters, still hustling", Sports illustrated, December 5, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
Boxing promoter In 1962, Arum was assigned by the Department of Justice to confiscate proceeds from the September 25, 1962 Floyd Patterson vs. Sonny Liston world heavyweight boxing title fight;IBHOF "Bob Arum", International Boxing Hall of Fame. Retrieved July 27, 2018. during which he met closed-circuit television (CCTV) pioneer and former Leo Burnett & Co. vice-president Lester M. Malitz (1907 – July 24, 1965) of Lester M. Malitz Inc. Malitz was the promoter of the 1965 Terrell–Chuvalo bout, during which he retained Arum to represent him. In 1966, subsequent to a suggestion by Jim Brown, whom Arum had secured for Malitz as the fight's announcer,Hauser, Thomas Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times, Open Road Media, 2012, page 145. Retrieved August 19, 2018. Arum became a boxing promoter. In 2016, Brown recalled that Arum had seen a televised fight in 1965, as "The first fight Arum ever saw was Terrell–Chuvalo, and he watched that from the television truck."Iole, Kevin "How NFL legend Jim Brown pushed Bob Arum into boxing promotion", Yahoo! Sports, March 28, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2018. Arum credits Brown with introducing him to Muhammad Ali, and Ali with teaching him how to be a boxing promoter.Logan, Greg "Boxing promoter Bob Arum recalls Muhammad Ali's courage", Newsday, June 9, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
Arum became a vice-president and secretary of Ali's promotion company, Main Bout. Mike Malitz, son of Lester, like Arum, owned 20 percent of the company and became its vice-president. Jim Brown owned 10 percent of the company and served as its vice-president in charge of publicity. Referencing his first live fight viewing, Arum was reported as saying that he "had never seen a boxing match before the first fight I did with Ali", referring to the 1966 Muhammad Ali vs. George Chuvalo bout.Mannix, Chris "Arum, one of boxing's most powerful promoters, still hustling", Sports Illustrated, December 5, 2012. Retrieved August 5, 2018.
During the 1980s, Arum became a driving force behind the sport, rivaling Don King. Arum organized superfights including Marvin Hagler vs. Roberto Durán and Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns. Arum mounted the Marvin Hagler vs. John Mugabi, Hearns–James Shuler doubleheader in Las Vegas in April 1986. After the Hearns–Shuler fight, Shuler, who had lost by knockout in the first round, showed up at Arum's hotel room to thank him for the opportunity to fight Hearns. ten days after that bout, Shuler died in a motorcycle accident. In 1994, he tried to add basketball to his interests, joining forces with Fred Hofheinz and Louisiana politicians to purchase and relocate the Minnesota Timberwolves to New Orleans, but the deal was rejected.
Arum kept producing big-scale undercards and superfights, including the Hagler–Sugar Ray Leonard bout, the Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns 1989 rematch, Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman, and many others. Some of Arum's superstars from the 1990s include former world flyweight champion Michael Carbajal, six-division world champion Oscar De La Hoya, eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao, and three-division world champion Erik Morales. Arum also promoted the legendary champion Julio César Chávez in his later years of boxing.
Arum has concentrated largely on promoting Hispanic fighters in recent years, citing surveys which show boxing is among the most popular sports within the Hispanic community. This strategy began after his success signing Roberto Durán and promoting Durán's comeback fight against Davey Moore, which demonstrated that he was not washed up after the 1980 "No más" fight. Next, he signed Julio César Chávez Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya. He has had great success with Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto, who won world titles at the 140, 147, 154, 160-pound weight divisions; Mexican-American Antonio Margarito, who held a 147-pound WBO belt from 2002 to 2007; Mexican-American José Ramírez, the former WBC and WBO light welterweight world champion; Honduran-American Teófimo López, the former lightweight world champion; and Mexican Óscar Valdez, the former WBC super featherweight world champion.
Arum has concentrated many of his shows in the Southwestern portion of the U.S., in cities with large Spanish-speaking populations. He is also the promoter of many of the cards on Telefutura, a Spanish language network. He later shifted over to Azteca América. In 2016, he put together an all-Hispanic undercard for Manny Pacquiao vs. Timothy Bradley III in protest of then-presidential candidate Donald Trump's statements on Mexican immigration.
Arum was inducted into the International Boxing Hall Of Fame in 1999. In 2003 he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
Controversies As a boxing promoter, Arum had been involved in many spats and controversies, including a 40-year feud with Don King, with whom he has co-promoted several fights.Boxing Insider, Romero, Bryant "Bob Arum and Don King Renew Old Rivalry", March 15, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018. UFC president Dana White has also been a vocal critic and the two have engaged in a protracted and acerbic public feud; boxing.typepad.com. February 2007 in 2018, White briefly became a rival boxing promoter.Doran, Niall "UFC president turned new boxing promoter Dana White is still sussing out the boxing landscape but has not been afraid to take a dig at two of the sport's biggest promoters", Boxing News and Views, May 29, 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
In 1994, he was involved with John Daly for the High Noon in Hong Kong boxing event. The fights were called off at the last minute when Barry Hearn scuttled the bout by withdrawing his fighters, when no purses were forthcoming from Top Rank.Mullan, Harry. (October 24, 1994) Boxing: Everybody blames each other for fight fiasco: High Noon in Hong Kong promised much but delivered only grief, as Harry Mullan discovered. Independent.co.uk. Retrieved on 2012-06-27.
In 2000, citing extortion, Arum voluntarily testified to having paid IBF president Robert W. "Bobby" Lee Sr. $100,000 in two installments in 1995, as the first half of a $200,000 bribe, through "middleman, Stanley Hoffman", adding that Lee had first demanded $500,000 to approve the Schulz–Foreman fight but had settled for the lesser amount of $200,000 (half of which was never paid).MCKINLEY, JAMES C. JR. "Arum Gives Description Of Payments to I.B.F.", The New York Times, June 7, 2000. Retrieved August 4, 2018. Lee was indicted for racketeering in 1999, but convicted of money laundering and tax evasion in 2000. Following his testimony, Arum was sanctioned and fined $125,000 by the Nevada Athletic Commission.Springer, Steve "Settlement Approved in Arum Case", Los Angeles Times, August 17, 2000. Boxing promoters Cedric Kushner and Dino Duva also admitted to making similar payments to Lee.
Oscar De La Hoya successfully sued Arum and was legally released from his contract with Top Rank in January 2001. Nidetz, Stephen "De La Hoya Wins Court Ruling Over Arum", Chicago Tribune, January 13, 2001. Retrieved August 2, 2018.Springer, Steve "All Systems Go for De La Hoya", June 23, 2001. Retrieved August 2, 2018. Following years of acrimony, he and De La Hoya publicly salvaged their relationship in 2014.Dixon, Tris "Oscar De La Hoya and Bob Arum bury the hatchet", Boxing News, December 12, 2014. Retrieved August 2, 2018.
In 2003, Arum complained about judging in the September 13 bout between Oscar De La Hoya and Sugar Shane Mosley and suggested there was a vendetta against him from a member of the Nevada Athletic Commission that led to De La Hoya's loss. Arum later made an apology for the remark which commission chairman Luther Mack accepted.
In the first week of January 2004, FBI agents raided Arum's Top Rank office in Las Vegas. Arum was on vacation when his office was raided and the FBI originally declined to comment on the raid. The news media reported that the FBI was investigating allegations that Top Rank was involved in fixing the rematch between De La Hoya and Shane Mosley, even though De La Hoya lost and Arum was De La Hoya's promoter. The federal agency also announced it was investigating some of Eric Esch's fights, as well as the Jorge Páez–Verdell Smith fight. The investigation closed in the summer of 2006 with no charges being filed.
In 2007, Yahoo Sports reported that, "Floyd Mayweather Jr. essentially accused Arum, who promoted him from the beginning of his career in 1996 until 2006, of underpaying him, exploiting his talents and manipulating officials." Mayweather, who also became a boxing promoter, stated to Yahoo Sports in 2015, "I don't have anything bad to say about Bob Arum."Iole, Kevin Yahoo Sports, April 29, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2018.