Vol. 5, No. 9, September 2008
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Going the Distance
Boxing promoters Don King and Bob Arum, whose professional rivalry stretches back to the 1970s, share Hall of Fame honors.
Bob Arum brought weekly top rank ESPN boxing to several properties in the 1980s and ’90s. It was an innovative program that launched future stars and gave fighters worldwide notoriety. Champions like Donald Curry, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini, Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns and Ray Mercer fought here under Arum’s banner. He continues to supply major events, including the October 18 Bernard Hopkins-Kelly Pavlik bout at Boardwalk Hall.
It seems fitting, therefore, that two pioneers who enabled Atlantic City to once flourish as the world’s boxing capital enjoy simultaneous recognition. King and Arum will be inducted into the Gaming Hall of Fame September 16 in Las Vegas, which they also turned into a multi-million-dollar boxing city.
The promoting duo, now in their 70s and mellowed, remains active. Their influence has not been lost on major boxing officials like Ken Condon, the former Bally’s Atlantic City president and current boxing consultant for Harrah’s properties.
“While boxing and casinos have always gone together, these two guys have taken it to a different level,” says Condon. “They’re the two power heavyweights when it comes to the boxing promoters of the world. Don King is a star onto himself. There was one fight in Las Vegas where he did his daily promoting duties, then flew to California every night to be on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. The publicity he generated was priceless.
“Bob I’ve known since the early days of Resorts,” Condon says. “He’s a class act. He’s always been fair and he’s helping to keep us going right now with fighters like Pavlik and Miguel Cotto.”
Arum and King were at the forefront of several boxing eras: closed-circuit theater revenue in the 1970s, casino site fees in the 1980s, pay-per-view in the 1990s and internet distribution now. They later battled, often bitterly, for control of the unregulated industry. In courtrooms, podiums and on television, they jockeyed for fighters, casino commitments and network dates.
Their opposite backgrounds caused more conflict. King was educated on the streets of Cleveland. Arum graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and once served under U.S. Attorney General Robert Kennedy. Their demeanor provided more contrast. Arum is low-key, while King flashed the big hair, jewelry, loud laugh and third-person personification: “Only in America could a Don King happen.”
Although they fought with each other, both maintained integrity within their casino sphere.
“There is always this sense of distrust in the public eye when it comes to boxing promoters,” Condon says. “I never experienced it. Once they make a deal, they stick to it and live by it. There was never a situation where they would renege or change something in the mainstream.”
In the boxing world, that’s a colossal statement.
Arum and will be inducted along with Emeril Lagasse and Bennie Goldstein, the father of riverboat gaming. To commemorate their award, here are some comments from both inductees:
ARUM:
“It’s an honor to be included with so many gaming moguls. You know, Steve Wynn, Donald Trump, the list goes on. It’s wonderful.”
On being inducted along with King: “It’s appropriate for Don and I to go in together; you really could not have one of us without the other. Besides, you get to a point where you’re too old to fight.”
On Atlantic City: “We have always loved putting fights in Atlantic City. What Ken Condon has done, getting multiple casinos involved, is great. It is always a pleasure for me to go back there and do business with Ken.”
On doing business now compared to the past: “It’s become a lot more corporate .... Instead of business being done at a gut level, the way it was, now you have all the bean counters involved. What’s also changed is that in Las Vegas, for instance, you have a virtual monopoly with one company controlling the two big arenas (MGM Grand and Mandalay Bay). That puts a damper on things in a way.”
KING:
On his “gambling” background: “I would have to say, humbly, that gaming has been a way of life for me … Before ever going to Las Vegas, we had these after-hours joints, you could call it Las Vegas in the neighborhood. We had the players, the hustlers, the blackjack, and all types of gamblers. I ran those types of operations. We had gambling, just like Caesars Palace.
“Back then, it was an outlaw industry. It was looked on with disdain, almost like robbing from the poor. Now it’s an in-law industry. There is a community involving boxing and the gaming institutions. They recognize your ability and capability in the human arena and you enhance them in their business community. What was once an outcast industry is now welcomed into the family fold.”
On what promoters brought to Atlantic City: “It has made their hotels better, their goods and services better. The cab driver, the bus boys, the boutiques, the restaurants—everybody benefits. Our contribution over the years is hundreds of billions of dollars. You look at how all the new properties went up, all on people’s caprices, whims and dreams. As promoters of boxing, we could bring them that. We made casinos in Las Vegas and Atlantic City household words around the world. We brought boxing from every nook and cranny to every shanty.”
On the rivalry with Arum: “Even when it was intense, I always appreciated his never-say-die attitude. I respect his perseverance. I think Bob is a great guy. If it wasn’t for Bob Arum, I would never have known how good Don King could be.”
