This month, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum celebrated his 94th birthday. The New Yorker has been promoting fights for nearly 60 years, and what he doesn’t know about boxing wouldn’t be worth printing.
The Harvard-trained former lawyer has worked with some of the sport’s greatest fighters, from Muhammad Ali to Floyd Mayweather, and promoted several of boxing’s most iconic fights, including the three-round war between Marvin Hagler and Thomas Hearns in 1985.
Some of these names were mentioned in an interview with Sky Sports, during which Arum had to answer a series of rapid-fire questions. One of them was which fighter he considers “most underrated.” His response?
“Miguel Cotto.”
The Puerto Rican slugger joined Top Rank following his exit from the 2000 Olympics, where he lost his first fight to Mukhammadkodir Abdullaev – a defeat he avenged in the professional ranks five years later.
Cotto and Arum worked together for 11 years, during which Cotto won world titles in three weight classes and headlined Madison Square Garden on several occasions. He then won a fourth division belt in 2014.
Cotto retired in 2017 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame five years later. His best wins came against Zab Judah, Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito and Sergio Martinez. His front foot style and fierce body attacks made him a crowd favorite, especially in New York.
