Arum Focusing on Crawford Has Monster Inoue Hanging
By Teodoro Medina Reynoso
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 23 Jun 2020
Premier boxing promoter Bob Arum signed up Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue last November at the heels of his best career win thus far over legendary Filipino multi division titlist Nonito Donaire in their World Boxing Super Series bantamweight finals in Saitama.
Inoue went home with the WBA super, IBF, and the Ring lineal titles and the prestigious Muhammad trophy signifying his mastery of the 118 lbs weight class.
And millions of dollars in fight purse and possibly a million dollar or two more in signing bonus from Arum.
Upon securing his latest prize catch, Arum vowed to make Inoue an even bigger star and household name by reintroducing him to the American, and global, boxing public in an even bigger pay per view fight set in the US the following year.
Many believed that in Inoue, the hall of fame promoter has finally landed a fighter who could replace Manny Pacquiao as Arum's new boxing superstar and cash cow.
For some time since Pacquiao left Top Rank in 2017, Arum has been depending on main ward Terrence Bud Crawford to deliver the goods so to speak but with limited success.
Crawford has been winning fights and in fact has remained undefeated but he is far from being a superstar and main crowd drawer that Pacquiao was for Arum from the mid 2000s through his record breaking fight with Floyd Mayweather in 2015.
So when Arum arranged a huge unification fight pitting Monster Inoue versus emerging Filipino giant killer Johnriel Casimero set for May in Las Vegas, the boxing world was expecting his grand launching of his latest superstar and possible money maker in the mold of Pacquiao.
But the coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of that grand fight and it has remained in limbo to date.
This despite the reopening of boxing in the USA, particularly around Las Vegas and the scheduled resumption of the sport in Japan this July, making it possible for Inoue to travel to the States to meet his commitments with Top Rank.
However it seems that resetting that fight is not in the priority of Arum as he is back focusing on and pitching for Bud Crawford once again.
After earlier dismissing a fight with former ward Pacquiao, Arum suddenly changed his mind and has pursued a Crawford-Pacquiao bout as a fitting grand welcome for the resumption of big time live arena and pay per view boxing in the US circuit.
Suddenly, Arum seems to have been on the road to Damascus and has seen a vision of boxing getting back to life after the pandemic shutdown.
And just as suddenly, the plan for an Inoue groundbreaking championship debut in the US is in the backburner.
The latest news is that if Arum would fail to secure a fight with Pacquiao who is busy helping his country cope with the pandemic, he may settle for either UK's Kell Brook or Cuban expat Yurdenis Ugas for Crawford's return to the ring.
But does that mean Inoue will settle for a co-main event billing or worse, as supporting main bout of a possible Crawford headliner this summer in Las Vegas?
Or will Arum reset the Inoue-Casimero blockbuster independent of a Crawford fight at a some farther future date?
Either way, Inoue is left hanging.
So is Casimero who has decided to remain in the US since the pandemic shutdown in hope that Inoue could again travel and that their fight could be rescheduled as soon as possible.
The author Teodoro Medina Reynoso is a veteran boxing radio talk show host living in the Philippines. He can be reached at teddyreynoso@yahoo.com and by phone 09215309477.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Teodoro Medina Reynoso.
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