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Bob Arum, chief executive officer of Top Rank Boxing Inc., participates during a panel discussion at the annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Tuesday, May 1, 2012. The conference brings together hundreds of chief executive officers, senior government officials and leading figures in the global capital markets for discussions on social, political and economic challenges. Photographer: Patrick Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Bob Arum, chief executive officer of Top Rank Boxing Inc., participates during a panel discussion at the annual Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., on Tuesday, May 1, 2012. The conference brings together hundreds of chief executive officers, senior government officials and leading figures in the global capital markets for discussions on social, political and economic challenges. Photographer: Patrick Fallon/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Bob Arum and his relationship with the lightweight champ, Teofimo Lopez, suffered a bit of struggle lately. Lopez is set to confront George Kambosos Jr. for his mandatory title defense later this year. That said, the lightweight kingpin demanded a massive paycheck from Arum but the latter couldn’t fulfill it.
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Consequently, the fight went to purse bids and Triller won the official broadcast rights for this fight.
This left Arum shattered, as Lopez is one of the best fighters from his Top Rank Promotions. Bob Arum wanted to stage this fight in a colossal way, but the ‘Takeover’ expected a surge in his fight fees from last time. This episode certainly deteriorated the relationship between the two.
Recently, American pugilist Chris Algieri gave his take on this situation and cornered Arum on the same.
Speaking to Behind The Gloves, he said, “I understand Bob’s point too, because there’s a buildup period, and he said in the past like these guys cost me a lot of money to get to this point, which I understand, especially with fighters who are built up and you sign them very early.”
“It takes a tremendous amount of money to build a world champion up to the point where they actually get the money fight,” he said.
Lopez is young and has a a tremendous career lying ahead of him. Arum wanted to pay him considerably well, but both Lopez and Kambosos Jr. were keen on receiving even bigger paychecks.
The Top Rank CEO was left with nothing else but to let this fight go to purse bids. Triller then reportedly bid the highest amount, $6.8 million, for telecasting this fight.
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Can Teofimo Lopez and Bob Arum get back to good terms?
This whole incident has definitely put Teofimo Lopez’s partnership with Top Rank and Bob Arum in jeopardy. But both sides will have to wait until Lopez concludes his bout with George Kambosos Jr. by mid-2021.
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – SEPTEMBER 13: Top Rank Founder and CEO Bob Arum attends a news conference announcing Top Rank Boxing’s fall schedule at the KA Theatre at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on September 13, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Post that, both Arum and Teofimo Lopez can rectify their terms and contracts to gain a clear picture.
It’ll be interesting to see how things play out for both of them in the coming future.
Moreover, they’ll look to only enhance the collaboration and not fetch it on inappropriate terms further.
What do you draw off Algieri’s comments? Do you envision Top Rank and Teofimo Lopez getting back to their old terms again?