At yesterday’s Pacquiao vs Bradley 2 press conference Top Rank’s Bob Arum used his closing remarks to unload on Showtime, Golden Boy Boxing, and the MGM Grand.
Here’s Arum’s statement verbatim:
“I’m not gonna say it. I know that, yeah, fff — hell with it. I know that in the Venetian, they wouldn’t make a mistake like this. They knew what fight they were scheduled, three or four days, and they wouldn’t have a 12-to-1 fight all over the building, that’s going to take place three weeks from next Saturday. But that’s why one company makes a billion dollars a quarter, and the other hustles to pay its debt. There it is! There it is! Say it like it is.
“OK, uh… the, uh, we’re gonna have a press conference for the undercard, televised undercard — what time tomorrow? 11 am in the press room. They are three really good fights. All fights, maybe not the biggest name in the world, but all fights that are even money or 2-to-1, unlike 15-to-1 fights with a big guy who oughta be locked up for the way he tweets. But again, you pay your money, you take your choice!
“Also, none of the fighters on the card had to pay anybody off to get on the card, unlike how some other people operate on some other networks. Right? That was an old tactic that Frankie Carbo used. It doesn’t go with HBO or with Top Rank. So thank you all for coming, we’re gonna pose the fighters now, and if whatever I said was incendiary, I’m an old guy, and I apologize.”
Arum was clearly upset that the MGM Grand would hang promo for the upcoming fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Marcos Maidana during the Bradley v Pacquiao week, but the fact is that Floyd will do nearly double the numbers so he deserves double the promo.
The MGM displayed PvB2 posters alongside all Mayweather promo, which seems to be fair and in the best interest of the Hotel. We will see if this makes Top Rank take their fights elsewhere from here on out or if Bob Arum is just momentarily angry.
Here are a few photos from yesterday’s Press Conference:
[nggallery id=1368]