INSIDE SPORTS: THE ADMIRABLE BOB ARUM
By Ronnie Nathanielsz
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 12 May 2007
Bob Arum in many ways never ceases to amaze us. When we learned from our respected friend Tony Aldeguer that Arum was taking the same Philippine Airlines flight from Las Vegas to Manila as Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ "Bazooka" Banal, we were determined to stay awake overnight and make it to the airport to interview Arum before the crack of another hot and humid dawn.
Of course Bautista, following his powerful performance against previously undefeated Argentinean champion Sergio Medina and Banal with a solid eight round decision over KO artist Juan Alberto Rosas of Mexico deserved our joyful attention. But frankly speaking it was the thought of talking to Arum that perked us up no end. Because love him or hate him, Bob Arum is worth talking to.
It was particularly interesting for us because Arum – with the whisperings of Michael Koncz who has apparently also wormed his way into the confidence of Manny Pacquiao which it seems, isn’t that hard to do these days – has been mistakenly led to believe that we were somehow linked with Golden Boy Promotions, before that with Murad Muhammad and most recently with the giant Philippine broadcast network ABS-CBN all of which were canards.
We talk to them and deal with them because they are in boxing and newsworthy – just like Arum himself.
Clearly Arum, whom we first met during the Muhammad Ali – Joe Frazier "Thrilla in Manila" in October 1975 and then again on his return the following year, doesn’t know us like he should. As for Koncz, his opinion really doesn’t count and never will. Maybe they count with Pacquiao and even Arum, but never with us.
But getting to Arum. You cannot help but admire the man who, after 75 summers decides to take the long and tiring flight from Las Vegas via Vancouver to Manila, then catch a connecting flight to General Santos City to provide what he referred to as "moral support" for Pacquiao in his quest for the lone congressional seat from South Cotabato currently held by a charming, articulate young lady – congresswoman Darlene Antonino Custodio – who hails from a well-established and respected family with decades of political savvy.
Arum said he would make sure not to transgress Philippine election laws and would heed the advice, coupled with a welcome we relayed to the promoter from Commission on Elections chairman Ben Abalos, our longtime and esteemed family friend who has always been a tremendous supporter of boxing.
Merely enduring the hardships of flying in on Thursday and flying out on Sunday, one day before Filipinos go to the polls, to give Pacquiao a moral boost and to tell his constituents what a great fighter and person Manny was and how he was admired around the world, may not win a congressional seat for Pacquiao but Arum would surely have won Pacquiao’s heart and perhaps his loyalty as well as the admiration of Pacquiao’s supporters.
Whether Arum was also mixing "moral support" with the simple business of trying to figure out when Pacquiao would be ready – and willing – to fight again and who the opponent of his choice would be, you must give the man full credit for his sacrifice. If indeed it was a battle for Manny’s heart against the solid legal claims that Golden Boy Promotions say they have in promoting Pacquiao, Arum by his actions alone must surely have some sort of edge.
When we spoke to Arum at the airport after he scurried around with Koncz in tow looking for his luggage amidst the pandemonium of three flights disgorging passengers from Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco within minutes of each other, he was amiable in a strange sort of way – like he always is even if he insults someone with his snide remarks.
He said all the right things with regard to his support for Manny’s political aspirations which included a statement that as a foreigner he doesn’t presume to tell Filipinos how they should vote. Indeed, everything he said jibed perfectly with what Chairman Abalos had suggested we tell Arum but there was no need to, really.
Arum knows the law – at least he should and as an article by Michael Woods in Sweet Science noted, "Arum is still Harvard smart and Brooklyn street-smooth." You better believe it.The article said Arum was "breathing down on 75 and still on that plateau. Bob Arum, it looks like, ain’t giving up his ground any time soon."
Indeed if he does, in a strange sort of way, we’ll miss him because he’s fun talking to and as a journalist you know that if you can talk to Bob Arum, sure as hell, you will get much more than a story.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ronnie Nathanielsz.
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