Eddie Hearn Once ‘Evaporated’ in Bob Arum’s Presence

In a sit-down with Arum for DAZN Boxing, Hearn reminisced about the sport and what he learned from Arum.

“We did Anthony Joshua against Joseph Parker in Wales. And the night before the fight we did like an evening with Bob Arum and Eddie Hearn, the two promoters of the fighters, and the question was ‘what was your greatest moment in boxing?’ and I stood up and I was like ‘I did Anthony Joshua against Vladimir Klitschko at Wembley, 90,000,’ blah blah blah,” Hearn said.

While the 2017 showdown remained fresh in Hearn’s mind, he might just have forgotten (albeit momentarily) that Arum is one of those veterans who has witnessed many of the sport’s pivotal moments.

Compared to Hearn, Arum possesses an extraordinary depth of experience that is almost unmatched in boxing. He began promoting fights in the 1960s and has spent more than half a century guiding the careers of legends such as Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Manny Pacquiao and many others, while also navigating countless shifts within the sport.

Even though Hearn is undoubtedly one of the most influential figures in the sport, he quickly acknowledged that Arum’s six decades of institutional knowledge, relationships and historical perspective represent a level of experience that can only be earned through time.

“Bob just stood up and went ‘it was either the Rumble in the Jungle or the Thrilla in Manila,’ and I just evaporated into my seat. I was like ‘I’ve got a long way to go,” he said.

‘It’s Like The Mafia”

At 94, Arum is still very active and promoting fights with the same enthusiasm that he had at 34 while promoting Ali. Talking during the same show, he revealed what motivated him to keep promoting for over six decades.

“I really never thought that I would stay in boxing after Muhammad Ali. I only went into boxing because Jim Brown had me meet Ali and his people and I became his promoter, but I was a lawyer essentially, and I never really looked at myself as being a boxing promoter,” he said with Hearn by his side. “But one thing happens after another, you meet guys like Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvin Hagler and Hearns and Duran, and that leads to George Foreman coming out of retirement to fight, Oscar De La Hoya. So, again, it’s like the mafia [laughs], you try to get out, but they drag you back in.”