By Reni M. Valenzuela
Bob Arum is atop his throne. He has been playing god as though he has the world at his command. He is in his twilight years, yet still looks at money as though he can bring it to heaven or hell. Leaving a great legacy like the great Muhammad Ali is normally what old people are most concerned about, but not Arum.
The Top Rank honcho is a bigwig in fight sport, a top-notch promoter with a burly Buddha stature and with so much kingly stubborn “power” to direct the destiny of the boxing world today. Bob is different and he may not think so that he conducts himself like he is the king of kings in boxing when he, Michael Konz or the entire Pacquiao camp blurted out, “That’s crazy,” only to insist that it’s not possible to make the biggest boxing event in history, the Mayweather-Pacquiao in May of this year because, allegedly, it doesn’t make sense “economically.”
Obviously, money is all what they see by saying that, and it’s lamentable that they treat boxing as pure business. So if that’s the case, they don’t have the right to be in the sport.
Arum may be correct in his analysis of the proposed fight in May between Floyd and Pacman from the point of view of “business” or greed. But is boxing really just about money, money and money? And given the circumstances in light of the real picture, does the Arum analysis make sense at all? And who knows (but God), if Mayweather or Pacquiao would still be around after May or even before Mayweather finishes his 90-day jail term? It would do us all well to remember the potentially very exciting fight of Pacquiao that never happened and will never ever happen in this kind of world we have. “Sayang!” The unbeaten and great “knockout monster” Edwin Valero took his own life at the height of his career and at his most eager mood to challenge Pacquiao.
The world has been kept holding its breath long enough to be happy hearing Mayweather tweet to challenge Pacquiao and I believe the heart of the unbeaten boxer when he did that. It was such an emphatic initiative from an uneducated great champion that should ring a bell loud and clear for all those concerned to connect at once threshing out the details and negotiations of the mega bout in May.
But it seems like the people around Pacquiao and Mayweather are the ones who are uneducated. Pride and greed, get out of the way!
renimvalenzuela@yahoo.com
