Arum wants to stage fights in Singapore

SINGAPORE — Despite spending the past 47 years promoting some of boxing’s greatest like world champions Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Oscar De la Hoya and Manny Pacquiao, octogenarian Bob Arum is showing no signs of slowing down.

In fact after staging over 9,000 fights, boxing’s Hall of Famer, who turns 82 in December, is still all pumped up about launching an assault on a new theatre for the sport: Asia.

It will take place primarily in Macau and Singapore, with big-ticket bouts planned.

The two Asian cities have been lined up to hold his fights, he added, as they are top gaming capitals and, like Las Vegas, have the financial resources to host top cards.

Speaking at the Marina Bay Sands (MBS) yesterday, Arum said that, besides the integrated resort, he is also eyeing the Sports Hub’s 13,000-seat Singapore Indoor Stadium (SIS), and 55,000-capacity National Stadium as venues.

With The Venetian Macao resort and hotel staging the Pacquiao-Brandon Rios bout on Nov 24, the Lion City is also earmarked for a top fight next year, said the Chief Executive of United States-based professional boxing promotion agency Top Rank. “I would like to do one fight a month between Singapore and Macau, and maybe at some point in mainland China,” said Arum.

“The strategy for Asia is to put on fights in casino venues like the Venetian Macao and, hopefully, with the Marina Bay Sands I want to bring some major events here.

“Why casino settings? It doesn’t have to be in the casino, but it has to be sponsored by a casino.

“It used to be that the big boxing matches were held in places like New York’s Madison Square Garden or Staples Center in California, but that is not true any more.”

Arum was especially fired up on Singapore’s prospects because, according to him, the largest foreign ticket sales of US$2.5 million (S$3.2 million) outside China territories and the Philippines when the box office opened in the first two days for the November Macau fight came from fans here.

“Singapore is going to happen as soon as they give me a date. I think we can be very successful doing an event at the (MBS) convention centre here … and, eventually, at the indoor arena (SIS) and, of course, the 55,000-seat stadium with the retractable roof ... So it is really bright for Singapore.”

A former New York district attorney, Arum kicked off his legendary career promoting Ali’s defence of his World Boxing Organisation heavyweight title against George Chuvalo in 1966.

He went on to promote Ali, the only three-time heavyweight champion, for 12 years including the first two of his three battles with Joe Frazier.

Besides Pacquiao, the eight-time champion over as many divisions, the big names in his stable in the last decade or so included various weight title holders like superstars De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather Jr.

With Asia as his new frontier and with Filipino Pacquiao turning 34 in four months, Arum has begun to sign up fighters in the continent who can make an impact in the sport.

The Chinese market is his ultimate prize and since April, he has signed the country’s undefeated lightweight boxer Yang Liang Hui, and flyweight and double Olympic gold medallist Zou Shiming.

After staging two full-house cards in Macau in April and on Saturday, with Zou winning his second pro fight out-pointing Mexico’s Jesus Ortega after six rounds, Arum is ready to mine gold in Asia.

He said there is still a chance the on-and-off titanic battle between Mayweather, who is no longer under Top Rank, and bitter rival Pacquiao could be staged and may very well be held here.

“I will bring it to Singapore in two seconds,” he said. “But Mayweather thinks all Asians are the same, that they are all Filipinos. So we got to get that sorted out first.”