Arum, Chairman of the Board, is the founder and the man behind Top Rank, Inc. In the early 1970's, Arum established himself by understanding the complexities and the enormous potential of closed-circuit television as a marketing vehicle to present championship matches. In the 1980's, he solidified his position as the sport's top promoter by utilizing the growing pay-per-view medium. And for three decades, Arum has employed club shows, and cable and network television to benefit his promotional empire.
"My essential strength as a promoter," Arum told KO Magazine, "is that I'm a good administrator and I'm also able to run a promotion in a dispassionate manner. And there's no great trick in selling a fight to a network or cable system. What really calls on one's ability is the big closed-circuit and pay-per-view fights. That's what I specialize in."
In promoting champions like Muhammad Ali, Roberto Duran, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Larry Holmes, Marvin Hagler, Alexis Arguello, Carlos Monzon, Iran Barkley, Thomas Hearns, Ray Leonard, Ray Mancini, James Toney, Terry Norris, Rafael Ruelas, Gabriel Ruelas and Oscar De La Hoya, with superfights such as Hagler-Leonard, Chavez-De La Hoya, Holyfield-Foreman, Foreman-Moorer, Leonard-Hearns, Hagler-Hearns, Ali-Frazier II and both Ali-Spinks fights. Arum has participated in most of the top-grossing fights in boxing history. Still, he has remained low profile in a highly visible sport.
Bob Arum was born December 8, 1931, in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn. He graduated from New York University in 1953, and cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1956.
Robert Kennedy, who served as Attorney General in the administration of his brother, President John F. Kennedy, hired Arum, who brought the federal government hundreds of millions of dollars by winning landmark decisions against such corporate giants as Con Edison, CitiBank and Standard Oil. In 1962, Arum was given the assignment of securing proceeds from the Floyd Patterson-Sonny Liston heavyweight title fight, which were rumored to be heading out of the country. While handling the resulting litigation, Arum met many of the biggest names in boxing and immediately became fascinated by the fistic world.
Arum left the Justice Department in 1965 and became a partner in Louis Nizer's law firm. He met football great Jim Brown, who introduced him to Muhammad Ali. Arum promoted the first fight he ever attended, Ali's title bout with George Chuvalo in March, 1966, through a company he organized, Main Bout, Inc., and also promoted Ali's fights with Henry Cooper, Brian London, Karl Mildenberger, Cleveland Williams and Ernie Terrell prior to Ali's involuntary suspension from boxing.