Top Rank Puts Together Cotto vs. Margarito II, Yet Cites Mayweather for Hurting Boxing
It has always been clear that there’s no love lost between Floyd Mayweather and Top Rank. Mayweather was formerly promoted by the company, led by CEO Bob Arum, before he paid for his exit and started promoting himself and working with arch-rival Golden Boy for his big events.
Arum, who once called Mayweather the best fighter he had ever seen, is now prone to taking shots at his former star attraction, his ability, his willingness to fight Manny Pacquiao, and on down the line from there.
That’s no coincidence given that Arum is Pacquiao’s promoter, and Pacquiao is now his major cash cow. Of course, Bob Arum is also the man famous for saying, “Yesterday I was lying. Today I’m telling the truth.” So anything he says has to be taken with a grain of salt. Or a 10 pound bag of it.
While Arum has been busy making the promotional rounds for the November 12th Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez fight, he has inserted himself into the spotlight yet again with more to say about Mayweather. Like a jilted lover, he just can’t help himself.
In an article from ESPN Los Angeles, most people took away the point that Arum said that Pacquiao vs. Mayweather would never happen. Fair enough, although that’s just more of the same from him and his company. In truth, it’s merely another attempt to goad Mayweather into conceding to his terms, or at least an attempt to hurt Mayweather’s stance with the public and his fans. But the more interesting quote from that article is when he says this:
“Mayweather demonstrated a complete lack of sportsmanship and the public that paid for that was cheated,” Arum said. “I don’t care about the baloney about protect yourself at all times and its a legal shot. That’s not the issue. The fighter has the obligation to entertain the public and hitting this kid with two cheap shots really put a damper on boxing. For me, f— the legacy, he cheated the public.”
He’s referencing Mayweather’s knockout of Victor Ortiz from September, which while legal, created controversy. Arum has an opinion and he is entitled to it, and even forgetting the history of the Mayweather vs. Arum feud, the backdrop of the Mayweather-Pacquiao negotiations, and everything else, the statement is filled with such hypocrisy that any boxing fan must cringe when he says it.
Arum says that Mayweather demonstrated “a complete lack of sportsmanship”, and that “he cheated the public.”
Meanwhile, in December, he is putting together a Pay-Per-View which is headlined by Antonio Margarito facing Miguel Cotto. This is after he had Margarito headlining a PPV against Pacquiao last November. This is the same Antonio Margarito – “Manos de Plaster”, if you will – proven to have used illegal hand wraps, the single biggest no-no in a sport filled with them. The same Margarito with no notable wins in years, and the same one who happens to be an in-house fighter, allowing Arum to feast on all of the profits of the bout for himself.
Margarito served a one-year suspension from the sport, but in reality he should be serving a lifetime ban in the United States. It’s an inexcusable and unforgivable offense for which he hasn’t shown any remorse, instead pushing all the blame on former trainer Javier Capetillo and feigning complete ignorance.
So, Arum believes Mayweather shows no sportsmanship and cheats the public. And he pays Margarito millions of dollars to headline PPVs against his big stars.
That’s Mr. Yesterday-I-Was-Lying-Today-I’m-Telling-The-Truth for you.
