Arum, Bob

Robert Arum

A member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, Arum is one of the two dominant promoters of the last several decades (the other is the notorious Don King). The Harvard-educated Arum is the subject of one of our favorite boxing anecdotes. When he first met heavyweight contender Trevor Berbick, Berbick startled the promoter by telling him that the Lord had appeared to Berbick in a vision, and informed him that he would meet Arum, and that Arum would give him millions for a future bout. Arum responded with the question, "When did the Lord speak to you, Trevor?" The pugilist answered, "Two hours ago." "Well," replied Arum, "He spoke to me twenty minutes ago, and He said to tell you that He changed his mind." Another time, Arum had a conversation with George Foreman during Foreman's comeback in 1995. Foreman said, "Bob, I can't chase these guys anymore." Arum responded, "George, I can't put it in the contracts that they can't run."

Birth and Death Dates:
b. December 8, 1931

Career Highlights:
Born in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, Arum graduated from New York University in 1953 and then attended Harvard Law School. After graduating cum laude from Harvard in 1956, Arum was hired by Attorney General Robert Kennedy to work for the Justice Department. While working for the Kennedy Administration in 1962, Arum first came into contact with boxing when he was charged with securing the proceeds from the Sonny Liston-Floyd Patterson heavyweight title fight (as opposed to the mob taking the profits). Arum left the Justice Department three years later to become a partner in a private law firm, but his fascination with boxing soon led him back to the sport.

In 1966, Arum met Muhammad Ali and set up a company named Main Bout, Inc. Arum promoted his first fight that year, Ali's title fight with George Chuvalo (it was also the first fight Arum had ever seen in person). By the 1970s, Arum was one of boxing's top promoters and on September 15, 1978, he promoted a then-record four world title bouts in one night at the Superdome. In 1980, Top Rank Boxing on ESPN was born, and was one of the highest rated shows during its run. Arum said of the show, "I'm proud of the big pay-per-view and closed-circuit shows...But the ESPN series stands out. To run a series like that and have it scandal-free for that many years is something I don't believe any of my competitors would be able to do."

Under his company, Top Rank, Inc., Arum has promoted more than 400 title fights, and some of the best boxers in history, including Roberto Duran, Julio Cesar Chavez, and Oscar De La Hoya, among many others. He also handled the comebacks of George Foreman, Larry Holmes, Iran Barkley, and many others. Although he has been investigated for some shadowy boxing deals, Arum is continually calling for a Federal Boxing Commission to standardize the sport and end the corruption caused by the various governing bodies. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1999.

Origin:
Brooklyn, New York

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