Bob Arum is a well-respected name in the world of boxing. The 92-year-old promoter is the CEO of Top Rank and has been involved in some of the biggest boxing matchups in history, including Marvin Hagler vs. Roberto Duran and Evander Holyfield vs. George Foreman.
Arum had also been a part of fights that involved boxing icon Muhammad Ali. During a chat with Gareth Davies in January 2024, Arum spoke about the experience of promoting Ali for the first time in 1966 in his fight against George Chuvalo.
Arum shared how Canada played a crucial role in kickstarting his promoting career:
"I love Canada. I mean, the origin of my boxing career is in Canada, in Toronto, you know, in 1966. If it wasn't for Harold Ballard, who owned the Maple Leaf Gardens, there wouldn't be a Bob Arum in boxing. He saved us by giving us a home for a fight for Ali which turned out to be Ali-Chuvalo fight. So obviously, I have great warm feelings for Canada."
Check out Bob Arum's comments below:
Bob Arum shares how working with Muhammad Ali was helpful in him dealing with Tyson Fury
Bob Arum recently did an interview with Sky Sports where he spoke about prominent boxing figures Muhammad Ali and Tyson Fury. Arum said that his partnership with Fury would not have been successful if he had not promoted fights for Ali first.
Arum went on to draw parallels between the two personalities and hailed them as extraordinary individuals:
"I don't think I would have been successful with Fury with the fights that I promoted for him, particularly in the United States, unless I had first promoted Muhammad Ali because after promoting Ali and the kind of personality he had, I could deal with the Tyson Fury. Otherwise, it would have been impossible. Tyson, like Ali, is larger than life and he's not like an ordinary fighter, an ordinary person in that regard... So, when [Fury] compares himself to Muhammad Ali, well, there's a lot of dissimilarities of course, he really hits the nail on the head."
