LOS ANGELES – It was business as usual for Bob Arum in his Top Rank office in Las Vegas on Tuesday as the Hall of Fame promoter attended to urgent things to attend to following the hectic schedule the previous week.
With his cash cow Manny Pacquiao declaring that Saturday night’s rousing victory over Tim Bradley as his final fight, the 84-year-old Arum knows from his half-century of promoting how things are in boxing.
When Pacquiao was headlining Arum’s shows, the cash register kept on ringing and the Filipino icon’s crowning glory came last year when he shared the spotlight with Floyd Mayweather.
“As far as I’m concerned he’s retired,” said Arum, who began promoting Pacquiao in 2004.
“You gotta move on,” he said, unsure whether the 37-year-old box-office king will have a change of heart.
“Let me know when he changes his mind,” Arum said, his voice taking a high pitch.
Now that Pacquiao is retired, Arum will focus on the stars on the rise and there is plenty of promise with somebody like Mexican Oscar Valdez, who put on quite a show in the undercard, leading the charge.
But deep in is heart, Arum knows he won’t see another Pacquiao ever again.