At 94, Bob Arum intends to take his usual ringside seat Saturday night as his 60-plus-years-old company opens its new streaming deal with DAZN by sending perhaps its most promising talent in Keyshawn Davis to a Norfolk, Virginia, main event.
With the exception of placement of fighters on other promoter cards and various club shows, Top Rank has been off TV since July when its eight-year-long ESPN deal ended.
Arum, coincidentally, has been sidelined since attending a Naoya Inoue bout in Japan in September after going through left knee replacement surgery due to an infection.
“I’m very excited on a personal basis because I’ve been out of commission for several months, [from] learning to walk again… it’s nice to get back,” Arum told BoxingScene Tuesday.
Throughout the layoff, Arum, who opened his company with Muhammad Ali, exchanged several enjoyable phone calls with Davis, 27, the undefeated 2021 Olympic silver medalist and former lightweight champion who endured a turbulent year by losing his belt by missing weight by more than four pounds in June, and then engaging 2023 opponent Albright in a backstage after Albright defeated Davis’ brother, Kelvin, that night.
Keyshawn Davis, 14-0 (10 KOs), who aligned with powerful managers James Prince and Josh Dubin, following the controversy and proceeded to convincingly defeat former 140lbs title challenger Jamaine Ortiz in January, is the No. 1 contender to his good friend and four-division champion Shakur Stevenson.
Launching the DAZN deal with Davis is “absolutely” appropriate, given his potential.
“I get a kick out of him. All things being equal, he could be a real big superstar in boxing,” said Arum, who noted Davis is shining under respected trainer Brian “BoMac” McIntyre. “[Davis] says he’s preparing for a special performance. All reports are very strong, and that he looks very dedicated.”
Arum said he foresees similar promise with DAZN as their multi-year union begins.
For years, Arum has crossed paths in boxing circles with DAZN owner Len Blavatnik and CEO Shay Segev.
The streaming company that launched its boxing arm in late 2018 with a Canelo Alvarez fight now has deals in place with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.
“I’m a big admirer of Len and Shay… when they put out a deal that was very interesting, with the potential to grow, we decided to go with them,” Arum said.”The future of DAZN is going to be great. As they get into sports beyond boxing, they’ll become like an ESPN for this era. They’re negotiating for some NBA regional games [with 13 teams], and they have a lot of good soccer.
“I expect DAZN to grow in subscribers and interest, and that’s important for us to prosper. DAZN has room to grow, and us being part of that would be great.”
Top Rank earlier this year sent its super-featherweight champion Emanuel Navarrete to a unification victory over Matchroom’s Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez on DAZN in Phoenix, and Arum says co-promoted bouts are imperative elements of growing the sport and brand.
On June 27 at New York’s Barclays Center, Top Rank’s unified 154lbs champion Xander Zayas will defend his WBO and WBA belts versus unbeaten former unified welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
“Of course, I’d be stupid not to [co-promote], particularly when it’s the same entity showing the event,” Arum said. “Why wouldn’t you work with somebody who also has a contract with the entity?
“That’s one of the advantages of being with an entity like DAZN, that our other colleagues in the U.S. or abroad, like Eddie, Frank and Oscar, are similarly tied.”
Arum even jumped at the prospect of matching Davis versus Golden Boy’s WBO-ranked 140lbs contender Oscar Duarte for the belt should Stevenson choose to move up in weight or vacate the belt for his friend.
Davis said he wanted to fight Duarte next, but Top Rank was set on settling the feud with Albright in the ring.
Arum admits pushing the drama on a card that also includes Davis’ two brothers and former welterweight champion Brian Norman Jnr.
“There’s a really good, very interesting back story here,” Arum said. “Duarte, that should come, but Rome wasn’t built in a day.
“There’s a bunch of good fights with a great main event [Saturday]. It’s what the public wants: an interesting night of boxing, plus it’s not on pay-per-view … people want to see these kinds of fights based on the pretty reasonable subscription price for DAZN. Let’s see what happens.”
