MORENO VALLEY, California – Life after ESPN begins immediately for promoter Bob Arum’s Top Rank.
The first step following its final ESPN show will come just seven days later. Three Top Rank-promoted prospects sit atop a club show this Saturday from Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, California, Saturday night.
“Until we finalize our TV deal – which I hope will be shortly – our matchmakers will set the schedule to keep our fighters active,” Arum told BoxingScene Tuesday.
Saturday’s House of Pain show will be headlined by unbeaten featherweight Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez, 13-0 (7 KOs) a 23-year-old Top Rank product who lives and trains about 20 minutes away from the casino.
“I like that they’re keeping me busy, regardless of what they’re going through,” Gonzalez said.
The appreciative remark was in reference to the end of Top Rank’s eight-year relationship with ESPN. Saturday’s card saw a trio of promising young fighters - Xander Zayas, Bruce “ShuShu” Carrington and Emiliano Vargas – prevail in televised bouts from The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Typically, fighters like Gonzalez, unbeaten Art Barrera Jnr 9-0 (7 KOs) and Perla Bazaldua 2-0 (1 KO) would be given a spot on a preliminary undercard stream to boost their profile among the sport’s most fervent fans.
Now, it’s a return to old-school profile-building, doing so in person.
Top Rank is paying its fighters’ purses.
“They’re giving me a hometown fight, 20 minutes from my home, so all my family and friends can pull up and show love,” the enthusiastic Gonzalez said. “I’ve trained harder. It makes me hungry to do even better and give everybody a great show.”
Top Rank flexed its young talent to whichever broadcast suitor was watching this past weekend. Zayas, 22, became the youngest active men’s boxing champion by with a vacant WBO 154lbs title win. Carrington, 28, claimed the WBC interim featherweight belt and the son of Fernando Vargas, Emiliano Vargas, 21, improved to 15-0 with a rapid, highlight-reel knockout.
In other cases, Top Rank co-promoted undisputed 122lbs champion Naoya Inoue, 30-0 (27 KOs) returns home to Japan for a September 14 title defense against former unified titlist Murodjon Akhmadaliev. The event is sponsored by Saudi Arabia boxing financier Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season.
Also eyeing a return is former light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev, whose team continues to work out terms for a rubber match with current 175lbs king Dmitry Bivol. The hoped-for trilogy clash, once (or if) finalized, is targeted to take place in Russia.
“We’re going to be fine,” assured one Top Rank official.
The company-wide theme is confidence that its 60-year history in the sport has amassed a legion of industry contacts who will provide spots for their established and developing fighters to land bouts.
Arum said constructing a “multi-year [broadcast agreement] for a lot of money is not done overnight … it’ll get concluded … hopefully by the early fall.”
Meanwhile, Top Rank’s WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jnr will defend his belt against former two-division champion Devin Haney. The attractive clash between young, unbeaten Americans is on a November 22 Saudi Arabia card that includes Top Rank’s promising lightweight Abdullah Mason seeking the vacant WBO belt versus England’s Sam Noakes.
“These are all great, terrific young men who speak well and are great fighters,” Arum said. “If all fighters were more like Xander, boxing would be a lot more popular. “He’s the kind of athlete who everyone – male and female – likes, being handsome, well-spoken, speaking two languages.
“‘ShuShu’ is so articulate we’ve put him on our broadcast. And Emiliano is off the charts. That’s what we’re looking for: personalities the public will embrace.”
Top Rank’s Hall of Fame matchmaker Brad Goodman, who will attend Saturday’s card with his Hall of Fame counterpart Bruce Trampler, sees that type of potential in Gonzalez.
The expectation is for Gonzalez to entertain in an attractive matchup following a couple of hiccups. He prevailed via unanimous decision on April 5 in a performance that Goodman called “lackadaisical.” Not helping matters was a scrapped fight in May when Gonzalez’s planned opponent fell ill in his weight cut.
Gonzalez has the chance to shine on Saturday in his clash with Mexico’s Angel Antonio Contreras 16-9-2 (10 KOs), who has fought Ramon Cardenas to a split decision and fought Carrington and Justin Viloria.
“I know that he has a couple losses only to contenders,” Gonzalez said. “He’s a veteran, has a lot of fights, a lot of experience. I know he’ll be very tough.”
Said Goodman: “The more [Gonzalez] stays active, the better.”
When and where the next bout comes – and whether it will be streamed or televised – remains uncertain.
Gonzalez said he’ll remain locked in on his duties and let his promoters tend to theirs.
“I have faith they know what they're doing,” Gonzalez said. “I let them do their part, and when the time is right, I’ll do my part.”
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
