Exclusive: Bob Arum Talks Shakur Stevenson, Loma-Tank & Inoue

“Shakur is Shakur,” Top Rank boss Bob Arum told FightsATW, two days after the fighter headlined on ESPN and won via unanimous decision in his hometown of Newark, NJ. The Brooklyn-born ATG promoter impressed me with his POV on Shakur Stevenson, whose contract with Top Rank ended with the bout against Artem Harutyunyan Saturday night.

“That’s the way he fights. He’s an enormous talent; it’s not gonna change because some people complain that it’s boring,” Arum said, reminding me that for him, this is BUSINESS. “He’s not gonna KO the guy; it is what it is. He is a very tough guy to beat though.”

No, Arum doesn’t get frustrated at what Stevenson could be, or in comparison to 135-pounders from past eras. I admit, I do, because I am a fan who watches to be entertained, not impressed with skill set. Roberto Duran is a template guy for me, but Arum is more savvy, which makes sense since he has maintained his spot in the sport for six decades by seeing the “bigger picture.”

Would Top Rank Still Work With Shakur?

OK, so is Shakur DONE at Top Rank? Because, oh my, was he making sharp points on ESPN in pre-fight footage, after winning, and even more so on social media. “I’m not making it personal. We offered him a helluva contract, he didn’t accept. For me, there’s no animosity. They are kids, many of these guys. It would be stupid of me to take it personally, to be affected.”

He is 27, Bob, not a kid anymore, though, no?

“I think some of the stuff is silly,” he admitted. You may have seen that Stevenson wore a t-shirt assigning blame to Top Rank for not getting him bigger and better fights. “These guys like him don’t realize other fighters have a say in things! Just as he says who he wants to fight, so do others. He paints a picture. Everybody is a puppet but him, like I can make any fight I want, do only what I want. It’s not just him. There is a disconnect that I’ve been trying to talk about. He’s 27, he is what he is.”

“Listening to pals and strangers on the internet doesn’t serve a Shakur,” Arum said, “because those folks have their own agendas and are not versed in the realities of big-time prizefighting. He has some good people around him, like James Prince, he is really smart. But the “street” people who talk to him don’t understand.”

Is Andre Ward A Good or Bad Influence on Stevenson?

We saw Andre Ward in the mix on Saturday. Is he a “good” or “bad” influence on Stevenson, as the 22-0 defensive master seeks to elevate himself in the sport and shops his services around to other promoters/entities? “I don’t know,” Arum admitted, “what kind of influence Ward is. He always seemed to me to be sensible. I would be surprised if Ward weren’t a good influence. He knows how the boxing business works.”

Shakur Conspiracy Theorizing Is ‘Sad’ and ‘Asinine’

Arum had not been aware of some of Shakur’s slings and arrows, like his take that people who were seen leaving the arena early while Stevenson and Harutyunyan were sparring were incentivized to do so. “That’s really sad,” Arum said when I related the charge. That Top Rank and ESPN would be in on such an act of collusion is ludicrous to Arum.

Still, he remains “sensible,” making clear that if Shakur’s hunt for his “true worth” falls short of expectations, that Top Rank would sit down with Prince and maybe cut an extension. “I don’t take that stuff personally. If he had violated his contract and then tried to come back, then no.” So, Stevenson isn’t violating any “disparagement clause?” No, Arum said, but yes, that conspiracy talk about paying people to leave….”It’s asinine that we’d go to fans and say, ‘Please leave,’ pay people to walk out.”

But there is no shortage of people who latch on to such pronouncements, is there? This age we are in has fashioned a construct where narcissistic impulses are unimpeded, and harsh truths that could/should be applied to self are rebuffed. We are more so situated in silos where “outside” voices can be explained away, dismissed with fantastic “reasoning.” Spicy lies gain traction and make the rounds harder and faster than conventional ones, yes?

Let’s Talk Loma, A Real-Deal Old School Warrior

I switched lanes to a Top Rank fighter who boasts a fantastic level of respect from fans and pundits alike, Vasiliy Lomachenko. The Ukrainian who desires the smoke and the fire, what’s the plan for him in the second half of the year?

Arum, on July 4th, delved into that; he attended the restaurant opening in Beverly Hills, CA, of Egis Klimas, who manages Loma. Oleksandr Usyk, a Klimas client, was also present. “He’s hilarious! It was a good time. We discussed Loma. Loma is coming here (this week), and we will sit down, and he will tell us what he wants. My feeling is, reading Egis, that it’s a Gervonta “Tank” Davis fight.” When then? November makes sense if the deal can be crafted, Arum said. “It’s a Vegas fight, MGM or T-Mobile. We’d decide a date where there are openings.”

NOTE: I asked Arum about the logistics of making a Tank deal. Would he be dealing with ultra-reclusive Al Haymon? “Nobody (from Top Rank hierarchy) has talked to Haymon in over a year,” Arum said. “Carl Moretti and them deal with Luis de Cubas.”

Another bright spot is the forthcoming Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitriy Bivol light heavyweight tussle. Team Turki, the Saudis, are all over that one, and Arum said they could agree to screen it in the US and Canada off PPV. “The biggest audience you can get when you don’t charge,” he noted.

Then, in December? “The plan is Usyk vs Fury again,” the promoter said. Turki will travel to LA, and they will hash out specifics, he shared. The Saudis are looking to enlarge their market share with US-based events, like the August 3rd slate topped by ex-Top Ranker Terence Crawford. TR heavyweight Jared Anderson, from Ohio, will have his stiffest test on paper in Martin Bakole, he said.

Inoue in the MSG Big Room?

I better understood Arum not taking the bait and getting into a verbal pissing match with Stevenson because Arum is looking on the brighter sides, like ‘the Monster.’ Naoya Inoue moving up in weight will be something to look forward to for fans of fighting, those who aren’t bending over backward to anoint Stevenson as a generational talent despite the fact that his “fighting” style is more of an amateur style and comes off as boring to a large portion of boxing fans. “We’re hoping to make one of the Inoue fights in the US, Vegas or LA, west coast definitely,” Arum said.

The former Justice Department attorney said that Madison Square Garden boss James Dolan told him that Inoue could pack the big room, with ringside seats commanding $5,000-$7,500 or so.

My Three Cents

Arum isn’t despondent over the potential loss of Stevenson because, he said, their “farm program” is solid. “Keyshawn Davis, Abdullah Mason, the Vargas kid, etc,” Arum said. “These are really appealing kids, with great personalities..that’s the future. It’s why I don’t get upset.”

Michael Woods

Michael Woods got addicted to boxing in 1990, when Buster Douglas shocked the world with his demolition of the then-impregnable Mike Tyson. The Brooklyn-based journalist has covered the sport since for ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com, Bad Left Hook and RING. His journalism career started with NY Newsday in 1999. Michael Woods is also an accomplished blow by blow and color man, having done work for Top Rank, DiBella Entertainment, EPIX, and for Facebook Fightnight Live, since 2017.

See author's posts