Top Rank’s Bob Arum: ‘I intend to do fights in Vegas’

So, MGM Resorts International is thinking about not doing business with Top Rank?

That’s fine from chairman Bob Arum’s perspective. Arum said Top Rank has options when it comes to doing business in Las Vegas as well as outside Nevada.

“We’re not going to abandon Las Vegas,” said Arum, who held last year’s Timothy Bradley-Juan Manuel Marquez fight at the Thomas & Mack Center and has staged several other big fights at UNLV’s home arena over the years. “We intend to continue to do fights in Las Vegas.”

Arum’s public tirade over the signage in the MGM for Floyd Mayweather’s upcoming May 3 fight with Marcos Maidana while trying to promote the April 12 rematch between Bradley and Manny Pacquiao did not sit well with Jim Murren, the MGM’s chairman and CEO. In an internal newsletter, portions of which were published by the Review-Journal on April 18, Murren said he would not allow any of his 62,000 employees to be bullied and would not do business with individuals who do so.

Arum, who returned to Las Vegas Monday after spending last week in Israel attending his grandson’s bar mitzvah, said looking back on it, he could’ve handled things better. But he still believes the MGM didn’t hold up its end of the bargain until after he called them out publicly.

“I think some of my language was a little harsh,” he said. “But I believe we were betrayed and that’s something I don’t tolerate.

“If someone does the opposite of what we agreed on, I can’t do business like that.”

It could be argued the MGM is dealing from a position of strength if it chooses not to do business with Arum. It has a strong relationship with Golden Boy Promotions and with Mayweather. Golden Boy will return to the Grand Garden July 12 for Canelo Alvarez’s next fight against Erislandy Lara and it had recently applied for the Sept. 13 date at the MGM for Mayweather’s next appearance before Top Rank president Todd duBoef objected to the Nevada Athletic Commission and the matter was tabled for future discussion.

The MGM also enjoys a strong relationship with the Ultimate Fighting Championship and it accommodates the UFC often. If it were to not work with Top Rank for one or two fights a year, the MGM certainly could make up the difference elsewhere if it chooses to with the UFC or other boxing promoters.

MGM officials said they would have no further comment on Arum and Top Rank.

Arum said he has a solid working relationship with Sheldon Adelson and Las Vegas Sands Corporation, which owns the Venetian in Las Vegas as well as in Macau. Same with Steve Wynn, who has properties in Las Vegas and China.

“We have great relationships with Steve and Sheldon and if we want to do fights in Las Vegas, the Thomas & Mack is a viable option,” he said.

But if Arum wants to bypass Las Vegas, he can do so with little problem. He already said Pacquiao’s next fight would likely be in Macau. He’s about to launch a partnership with the refurbished Forum in Los Angeles with Marquez and Mike Alvarado on May 17. He has had a long-standing business relationship with Madison Square Garden and the Garden will be the site of the June 7 middleweight title fight between Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez which Arum is co-promoting with DiBella Entertainment.

And if Arum needs to go to a stadium setting, he has done fights with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones at AT&T Stadium. He has also done a fight at the new Yankee Stadium and he has an open invitation from the Mara and Tisch families, who own the New York Giants, to do a fight at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey.

The reality is, both sides can thrive without having to interact with each other. But Arum believes Top Rank and the MGM can ultimately do business in the future.

“The MGM is not Jim Murren,” Arum said. “The MGM will remain long after he’s gone. It’s not the company that’s the issue, it’s the individuals who are running it.”

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.