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Bob Arum celebrating his 2,000th boxing promotion

Bradley vs. Pacquiao Press Conference

Steve Marcus

Boxing promoter Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, speaks during a boxing news conference at the MGM Grand Wednesday, April 9, 2014.

For more than 50 years Bob Arum has promoted some of the greatest fighters in boxing history.

They include: Muhammad Ali, Marvin Hagler, Manny Pacquiao, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard among many other champions and notables.

But if not for a fight of his own early in his promoting career none of it would have been possible.

“Promoting Ali as my first fighter helped me tremendously because it was a such a fight,” Arum said. “It was a fight with the draft situation. It was a fight with the public. It was a fight with the American Legion. It was fight with everybody that was, in my mind, persecuting Ali.”

As a 34-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer with little-to-no boxing experience in 1966, Arum didn’t slowly move into the waters of promotion. Arum’s first promotion was Muhammad Ali against George Chuvalo in Toronto.

“I think it was the schooling I got in that first Ali fight in Toronto and all of the politics and the stuff I had to go through to get that fight on, that really made me the promoter and the person that I am today,” Arum said.

Later that year, because of Ali’s refusal to enter the draft for the Vietnam War, he was stripped of his boxing license in every state as well as his U.S. passport. Arum fought alongside Ali through everything, and emerged as battle-tested outside the ring as his legendary fighter was inside it.

“Ali was easy to work with, it was the situation that was horrible,” Arum said. “If this were another fighter it wouldn’t have been possible. Ali was smart and he was understanding.”

Now years later, the Top Rank Boxing founder and CEO will celebrate his 2,000th promoted event, as Vasyl Lomachenko will defend his World Boxing Organization junior lightweight title against Nicholas Walters Saturday night at The Chelsea inside the Cosmopolitan.

“When people remind me of the number I remember so many of the great fights that I promoted, from Vegas to South Africa, and there’s a lot of great memories,” Arum said.

Of the 1,999 promotions Arum has overseen, these five stood out to him as his favorites.

1. Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier III, Oct. 1, 1975, Philippine Coliseum, Quezon City, Philippines.

The “Thrilla in Manila” is one of the most recognizable fights in history. The fight had everything a young promoter could want: a unique location and notables fighters who had a history against each other. This was the third meeting between Ali and Frazier, the rubber match after Frazier won the first match and Ali the second.

It was fought at 10 a.m. local time in what was estimated to be nearly 120-degree temperatures. The two battled for 14 rounds after which Ali retained all three of his championship belts with a unanimous decision victory.

“It was like death in the ring the way those guys fought,” Arum said.

2. Marvin Hagler vs. Thomas Hearns, April 15, 1985, Caesars Palace

The three-round battle between two of the sport’s most exciting boxers of all time distinctly sticks out in Arum’s memories. Arum coined the nickname, “The War” which perfectly suits one of the most violent fights of all time.

The first round is regarded by many as the greatest in boxing history, as Hagler and Hearns traded massive punches, one of which broke Hearn’s right hand and another opened a cut on Hagler’s forehead. After three furious rounds Hagler dropped Hearns with a vicious right. Hearns stumbled to his feet after a count of nine but was unable to continue.

3. John Tate vs. Gerrie Coetzee, Oct. 20, 1979, Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria, South Africa

In 1979, the American John Tate fought Gerrie Coetzee inside a rugby stadium filled with 80,000 South Africans in Goetzee’s home country. The fight took place at the height of the South African apartheid, and was for the heavyweight belt vacated by Muhammad Ali.

The fight started slow and certainly won’t be remembered for its great action inside the ring. Tate out-boxed Coetzee and picked up a unanimous decision. Arum remembers it more for the atmosphere of a packed rugby stadium, and history remembers it for Tate ruining the plans of an apartheid government desperate for a homegrown champ.

4. Aaron Pryor vs. Alexis Arguello, Nov. 12, 1982, Orange Bowl Stadium, Miami, Florida

Like many of Arum’s favorite fights, this one also took place in an outdoor venue — a massive, open-air, coliseum-like atmosphere.

The fight was action-packed from the opening bell to the final minute, as the two traded heavy blows in an evenly matched bout. Pryor held the slight edge heading into the fourteenth round, when he trapped Arguello against the ropes. He battered the Nicaraguan’s body before landing a left-right combination that left him stunned. Referee Stanley Christodoulou jumped in to stop the fight just as Arguello’s body slumped to the canvas, giving Pryor the TKO victory.

5. Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao, May 2, 2015, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Las Vegas

Perhaps the crowning achievement of Arum’s promotional career, the fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao will be known far more for its promotion than the actual fight itself. Mayweather was promoted by Arum early in his career before creating his own promotion, and Pacquiao has been with Arum for nearly his entire career.

After years of talk the two finally faced off last summer, and the fight was lackluster to say the least. But regardless of the lack of action, the fight broke nearly every record imaginable. The most lucrative fight in boxing’s history generated an estimated $400 million in revenue — $74 million of which came from the gate alone. It sold approximately 4.6 million pay per view, which were sold at an increased price of $99 each. Mayweather, who won by unanimous decision earned $120 million, while Pacquiao walked away with $80 million.

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