Arum- Haymon Saga continues

The newest boxing storyline that was created over this past weekend after the Terence Crawford-Amir Khan fight was a rehashing of the long-standing feud between Top Rank CEO Bob Arum and head of Premier Boxing Champions Al Haymon.

This time around Bob made his demands known the only way Bob knows how which is bluntly and even suggested that race was the issue.

Arum claimed Haymon, who is black, told the media he will use race as a way to keep Spence completely isolated to the Premier Boxing Champions stable of fight opponents Haymon launched over four years ago.

Arum, who’s white, also predicted Spence won’t request to face Crawford next in a welterweight title unification fight. To Arum’s credit, the next fight being speculated for Spence is a fight with World Boxing Council Welterweight champ Shawn Porter.

“No, because you can hear what he’s gonna say,” Arum told a group of reporters, referring to Haymon. “He’s gonna say, ‘Spence, listen to me. Don’t listen to the white guys, because if you listen to the white guys they’re gonna steer you down the road. Listen to me, brother.

We’re part of a brotherhood. And if I tell you not to fight Crawford, I’m telling you not to fight Crawford.’ That’s exactly what he will say.”

He also stated in the ring after the Crawford-Khan fight for fans to boycott watching fights from Premier Boxing Champions until a deal for Crawford-Spence is done.

Bob Arum asks boxing fans to stop watching PBC fights until Al Haymon makes Crawford-Spence. Um, what?

— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) April 21, 2019

Arum had blamed Haymon and “boxing writers” as the reason that Crawford-Spence hasn’t happened. Arum himself didn’t accept any personal accountability.

“Well, lemme just tell ya, you guys, you writers have to understand,” Arum said to reporters, “I don’t care what publications you write for, what website, who’s supporting it, Al Haymon won’t make fights. Wilder won’t fight Joshua. Why? Because of Al Haymon. Spence won’t fight Crawford, not because of Spence, but because of Al Haymon.

He’s running a scam and a company, and people have to realize that. He is ruining the sport of boxing. You know, not to agree to make a Spence fight with Crawford, which is a fight that all fight fans want – why? Why? Because he’s running a scam operation. I’m telling you. He will only have his fighters fight with his own camp, unless he gets opponents that he knows his fighter can beat. That’s a scam. That’s a guy who’s not developing fighters, who’s not getting young kids, who, like Teofimo Lopez, like Shakur Stevenson, are gonna be big stars because they’re matched.”

I wonder how Bob will begin his Monday morning call to Al Haymon to get working on Crawford-Spence. Will he start with, 'Good morning, Scamster?' Or maybe 'Mr. Scamster' will break the ice. ? https://t.co/743Ep74Wgl

— Keith Idec (@Idecboxing) April 21, 2019

As a “boxing writer” and below average salesman, I must admit that this isn’t the most inviting welcome pitch you could open with to complete a deal.

In a response to Arum in the Los Angeles Times, Premier Boxing Champions spokesman Tim Smith stated in a statement:

The end result to come out of all of this smoke is an eventual mega fight between arguably the best pound for pound welterweights in the division in Terence Crawford and Errol Spence. Arum and Haymon have worked together before albeit it took a while…a long while in the creation of the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight which eventually took place in 2015 after several rounds of failed negations going back to 2009. Anyone in the boxing community will tell you that this felt like six years going on sixty for this match to take place.

At the end of the day, there is too much money involved in this fight for it not to happen, but the constant bickering and posturing between both sides can only be chalked up to nothing more than another day in “the business of boxing.”