Like I dare say most people in this business, Marty Corwin, the boxing TV producer who worked for two dons of industry, Don King and “The Bobfather” Bob Arum, for 43 years, didn’t mean to go into boxing.
That was one takeaway I had when reading Marty’s book “Arum and King: Six Decades of Boxing Gold,” which is written by a New Hyde Park, NY kid who was pre-med till junior but instead found himself in a position to see two never-to-be-replicated icons of business who themselves sort of dropped into boxing as a way of life. King’s way of life meant running numbers in the grittier sections of ’60s Cleveland and its vicinity. Marty much more benevolently drifted, and Arum’s arc meant disappointing his parents when his arc went from Harvard Law to …well, better to let Marty flesh it out.
Best probably to buy the book because he deserves me not spilling some of the tastiest anecdotes, of which there is no shortage, duh, considering that Marty ran hip to hip with “Col. Bob Sheridan,” a Brobdinagian figure who also won’t be replicated or approximated as civilization lurches “forward” with the King crew in the rah-rah 90s.
And whaddya know, Marty was in the right place, right time when he “double-dipped” and directed an event for Team Top Rank as a favor to a friend, and King got wind of it and swung the axe. That axe blew Corwin to the Top Rank side, where he’s been presenting A-grade TV/stream fare for ESPN and all the platforms which have put forth Top Rank fare from Oscar De La Hoya-Ike Quartey 1999 until present. (NOTE: He might not even recall, but I worked blow-by-blow with Marty show-running at least three times, and I can say he was cool AF. Not too much in the ear, very deft and chill.)
In the recent times, that meant being there for the unexpected rise of the diminutive dervish Manny Pacquiao. Great stuff, but if you are like me, you probably will take more than marginal delight in the recollections of the Colonel. Those alone make the hardcover a worthy purchase.
Marty, producer/director, does a good job of summing up succeeding. “I have lasted this long in boxing by keeping my head down, my opinions mostly to myself,” he shares in his introduction. It makes sense. His job is to keep the camera and audio running and capture the moment, which is not typically a job taken by someone who needs to be bathed in adulation.
I thought his Chapter 2 sum-up could have served as a last chapter wrap: King had a Barnum quality, he said, while “Arum hypes with testimonials he believes to be true. I respect the man for his passion and his tenacity. Bob has, on occasion, gotten himself into trouble with his honesty. He has said negative things to defend himself, his fighter, or his beliefs. Bob seems like my favorite uncle. Don seems like the distant cousin who always scares you a bit.”
You can now order “Arum and King: Six Decades of Boxing Gold” on Amazon by clicking HERE.
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