Exclusive interview with Bob Arum | Top Rank to promote 28 boxing events in mainland China next season

Bob Arum, the legendary promoter’s efforts in Macau and China, together with Sands China, were successful in bringing professional boxing, the “noble” fight, to this part of the world. In an interview this week with the Times, Mr Arum, 83, told us that his firm, Top Rank, is going to stage 28 boxing events in 14 mainland cities in the coming season, starting in September.  Moreover, he said, there are several “good Chinese fighters in the pipeline.”
For the territory, Mr Arum believes that “it’s very important that Macau brings in boxing and presents boxing in a superior way because I think it shows that [the casinos] are bringing events to the public, which attract international attention and that’s something that the [local] government wants.”
For Bob Arum, top boxing is a smart choice, because “you’re not going to get a major American football game […] or a professional basketball game here. You know, other than exhibition games. But you can get the best of boxing here and make Macau a place where people want to come for the best available entertainment and that’s very important. It’s very important that these [operations] that make a lot of money from casino revenue, give back some of the money by put-­
ting on events that attract worldwide attention.” At this stage, he’s engaged in talks with Las Vegas Sands and Sands China in order to decide about the future of the partnership.
Mr Arum also talks about Manny Pacquiao’s “farewell fight in the Philippines” and says that everybody in the world of boxing should be thinking about “one thing and one thing only:” the rematch of the “fight of the century.”
Our chat with the lawyer-turned-­boxing promoter, who counts names such as Cassius Clay under his career belt, started with his take on tomorrow’s event at the Venetian’s Cotai Arena.
MDT – How do you see the event we are having this weekend at the Cotai Arena, namely the title fight?
Arum – I think [the Chinese fighter] Yang Lian Hui could be – if he is victorious – extraordinarily valuable to the sport in China because he is what we call a ‘character’. He’s like a comedian; he’s not the greatest technical boxer in the world, but he’s a tremendous puncher. And he’s fun and a guy like that appeals, will appeal, to the Chinese masses.
MDT – You think more than Zou Shiming?
Arum – More than Zou even, yes. Zou is more traditional.
MDT – How’s Zou doing?
Arum – He’s doing okay, but he’s so busy with his theatrical career and his endorsements, I mean he’s like a big, big star, but he’s going to fight in November. […] But Yang, every time I see him, I start laughing, you know. But he’s got it and he’s fighting an Argentine guy who doesn’t have a big punch, but has what? Forty-something fights that he’s won. Without a defeat, you know, that’s pretty good and these [other] Argentine guys that he’s been fighting are pretty good, so it’s going to be tough, but all the people tell me that Yang has trained unbelievably. So we’re hoping that he can win. It will be great for boxing in China. [For] President Xi Jinping that’s one of his favourite guys, Yang. We have a lot of other Chinese fighters now in the pipeline. This coming season, which starts in September, we’re going to do 28 events on the mainland […] I think, in about 14 cities.
MDT – Apparently, your efforts to promote boxing in Macau and China, are working.
Arum – Really, really working. I’m very excited. How do we know they’re working? We look at how many people are watching, and the ratings have been extraordinary and even the weekly show that we have – the magazine show – we’re getting very good ratings. That weekly show was sponsored by the Venetian and now we have a sponsor from China for it.
MDT – The fight is going to be broadcasted to the US and China, right?
Arum – The US, China, Philippines, Mexico, Argentina. Yes, a lot of places.
MDT – What kind of viewership are we talking about?
Arum – Everything is small when it compares to China. See, I think that in the United States, we’ll probably have maybe a million, a million and a half viewers. In China, we’ll probably have 25 million viewers.

MDT – Well, definitely, when the likes of Manny Pacquiao fought here at the Cotai Arena, Macau was the capital of boxing. Do you think you can bring him back? There are talks about Dubai for the next fight…
Arum – Well, yes. You have to understand, because of the economics, when we do a Pacquiao fight in Macau, rather than in the United States, the pay-per-view revenue goes down because you’ve got to be where the income is. So the Venetian made up the difference and it cost them considerable money [to put on] both of the Pacquiao fights. Things aren’t the same as they used to be, you know, with the [decline in] revenues. They’re doing well, but not ‘crazy well’ like they did before. So in order for them to do a Pacquiao fight, it requires the cooperation of all of the properties. The difference in Macau, from Las Vegas and places like that, is that when an event happens in Las Vegas, all of the properties buy tickets and support the event.
MDT – Does that mean that Dubai may stage Pacquiao’s next fight?
Arum – I don’t know. Right now he’s in Indonesia. He visited that woman that was sentenced to death [Mary Jane Veloso] and he’s trying to get the [Indonesian] President to release her. He’s going to the United States, he’ll arrive Saturday [tomorrow] there. The doctor will look at his shoulder, will evaluate, give him rehab and then we’ll figure out when he’s going to fight.
MDT – So you still don’t know when he will be ready?
Arum – I don’t want to make a judgement until I have a medical report.
MDT – But for sure, next year?
Arum – Definitely, next year. We will rush it too much if we make it this year.
MDT – Floyd Mayweather was stripped of his welterweight champion title. And now Timothy Bradley is the interim champ. Is he a possible opponent for Pacquiao?
Arum – It’s possible, but they’ve fought twice before so there are other opponents that we’re looking at. Maybe Crawford.
MDT – Terence Crawford, your new star?
Arum – Terence Crawford, yes. Well, he’s going to fight in October and we’ll see, but Terence is a hot, hot fighter in the United States.
MDT – Could it be the last fight of Pacquiao’s career?
Arum – Yes. Pacquiao is going to probably fight once more, early next year and then will have, another, last fight, in the Philippines. A farewell fight because I think he’s going to run for the Senate in the Philippines and then he’ll be in the Senate for six years and I think he wants to run for President in 2022.
MDT – And a possible rematch of the ‘Fight of the Century’?
Arum – If everybody were smart, that’s all they should be thinking about now: the rematch. The money that was made in that fight, nobody’s ever seen anything like it, I mean, crazy, crazy [money]. Every week, I get millions and millions of dollars, you know, for Pacquiao’s share and mine, but I mean, we’ll see what Mayweather’s going to do.
MDT – Mayweather broke records, he’s undefeated. He made all this money. But some people don’t see him as such a phenomenon as Cassius Clay, Frasier and the likes…
Arum – No, because he wasn’t that enjoyable to watch. He marketed himself very, very well and he’s a very good fighter, but he’s not a pleasing fighter.
MDT – Pacquiao is more fun?
Arum – More fun.