BOXING BARKERS GO SOCIAL: King, Arum, both 79, all atwitter over Twitter
Don King had been reluctant to embrace Twitter — and it had nothing to do with him being 79 years old.
No, the verbose King was worried he couldn’t say what he wanted to in 140 characters.
"That would be a monumental challenge," the Hall of Fame boxing promoter said recently. "I may have to develop my own form of Twitter. I’m not sure 140 characters is going to be enough."
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum — like King, a 79-year-old Hall of Fame promoter — finally joined the Twitter universe three weeks ago. They might be a little late to the social media party, but they have decided it’s time to join it, even if they didn’t initially understand the concepts and worldwide impact of Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, phone applications and other social outlets.
"You’d be a fool not to take advantage of it," Arum said. "For me, it’s not much different than what I’ve done my whole career. I’ve always reached out to the public. This is just a faster, easier way of doing it."
King flirted with Twitter a couple of years ago. But he didn’t stay long, believing at the time it wasn’t an effective tool to get out his message. He admits now he was shortsighted and plans to be back on Twitter soon.
"It’s a new world," King said. "You can’t let it pass you by."
To that end, King recently unveiled his own iPhone application. Within the app is news, video, audio clips and almost everything one would want to know about King.
"It’s a very important tool," King said. "Knowledge is king, and king is knowledge. It’s a way to entice new fans to boxing and, in this moment of time, it’s necessary to be on the information highway.
"The computer gives you the chance to speak your mind. It has become a big part of our lives."
Arum said he came to understand the impact of Facebook and Twitter because of his stepson, Top Rank president Todd duBoef, who has been using social media for the past few years.
DuBoef said he didn’t need to force Arum to start tweeting. Arum saw what duBoef was doing and how good it was for business.
"It’s been a corporate initiative for us," duBoef said. "With our website, Facebook and Twitter platforms, it’s just another layer.
"For Bob and Don, it’s a fun thing. They’re throwbacks to the old days. They’re P.T. Barnum. I give them credit for embracing the social media rather than resisting it."
Arum doesn’t own a Blackberry and doesn’t do his own tweeting. Instead, he calls Lee Samuels, Top Rank’s public relations chief, or Jason Tang, who oversees the company’s social media, and dictates what he wants put out in the Twitter universe.
"This is a very easy process for me," Arum said. "I call the tweets in and, the next thing you know, they’re out there. It’s great."
Many boxers use Twitter and Facebook to connect with fans.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. has 1,324,200 people following him on Twitter. Manny Pacquiao has 115,478 Twitter followers. Amir Khan and Zab Judah, who will fight July 23 at Mandalay Bay, post numerous daily tweets, sometimes taking shots at each other.
Bernard Hopkins, Andre Ward, Robert Guerrero, Paulie Malignaggi and Victor Ortiz, who will face Mayweather on Sept. 17 at the MGM Grand Garden, are regular posters on Twitter, as are promoters Oscar De La Hoya, Lou DiBella and Gary Shaw.
DuBoef, who at 43 is no social media youngster, said over the time he has been using Facebook and Twitter he has seen the value of getting Top Rank’s message out quicker and to a broader audience.
"Without question it has been huge for us," he said. "Think about the old days when Bob had a big announcement and he’d get on the phone and call all the newspaper guys. Now, he can go on Twitter and tell everyone in a matter of seconds what he wants to say. He can reach so many more people faster, and he understands that."
DuBoef said he also tries to be judicious with his own tweets.
"Sometimes it’s not appropriate to tweet something," he said. "We’re currently negotiating with HBO and Showtime for Manny’s Nov. 12 fight with (Juan Manuel) Marquez and, until we have something to announce, I don’t think it’s right for me to be putting information out in the public."
Arum and King said that even though they’ll soon be octogenarians, they aren’t too old to try something new.
"I’m sure there were people pushing 80 when they invented the telephone," Arum said.
King said: "You know how they say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? I’m here to tell you there’s at least one old dog who you can teach new tricks to."
Make that two old dogs.
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.