Arum insists sanctions are only ‘symbolic’

Dean Juipe

Thursday, Aug. 17, 2000 | 9:28 a.m.

A fight that was held five years ago and netted a $500,000 profit cost promoter Bob Arum $125,000 Wednesday.

That was the bottom-line result of Arum's appearance at a Nevada State Athletic Commission hearing in which he was called to answer questions pertaining to an alleged bribe he paid to have the April 22, 1995, fight in Las Vegas between George Foreman and Axel Schulz sanctioned as a title fight by the International Boxing Federation. Prior to the fight Schulz wasn't ranked by the IBF in its top 10 heavyweights and Arum's payment -- intended for IBF president Robert W. Lee, although made through an intermediary -- caused Schulz to be ranked and allowed the fight to proceed.

Arum was also handed a list of sanctions by the NSAC and given a six-month probationary period. As a gesture of goodwill, he also voluntarily pledged a $50,000 contribution to be made to a youth boxing or youth sports organization to be determined within 30 days.

The sanctions will have only a minimal impact on Arum, as they will keep him out of the ring and out of the dressing rooms before and after fights and prevent him from taking an active role at a weigh-in. His Las Vegas-based Top Rank Boxing Inc. will also keep its books open and available at the commission's request.

"I don't go into dressing rooms anyway," Arum said after the hearing. "And somebody else can bellow out the weights.

"Those are only symbolic (sanctions) and they don't interfere with how I do my business."

The assessed penalties were agreed upon prior to the hearing. Legally, the NSAC could fine Arum no more than $250,000 and the $125,000 easily exceeds the highest fine ever previously assessed by the commission, which was $25,000 to promoter Murad Muhammad and $25,000 to promoter Rock Newman.

Arum will also pay $1,330 to cover the state's expense in researching and conducting the hearing.

"We were always more interested in Mr. Arum admitting his actions brought disrespect to boxing," said Nevada deputy attorney general Kirk Hendrick, who negotiated the deal on the state's behalf. "The conditions might not sound like a lot, but they should not be minimized. They are conditions on him that will be a hardship."

Appearing -- and sounding -- contrite, Arum maintained a low-key presence at the hearing, which attracted some 40 observers to the Grant Sawyer Office Building on East Washington.

"It was a stupid, wrong thing to do," Arum said of his payments to Stan Hoffman, who was to have delivered the $100,000 to Lee.

His act was also a violation of Nevada Revised Statute 467.110, which empowers the NSAC to penalize any fighter or promoter who engages in conduct that is "detrimental" to boxing. Arum admitted he made the payment(s) to Hoffman (in the form of separate $50,000 checks) during a federal investigation of the IBF that has gone to trial in New Jersey but has not yet been resolved.

NSAC chairman Dr. Elias Ghanem asked Arum if he had ever made similar payments to other boxing organizations, such as the World Boxing Council or the World Boxing Association. Arum answered "Never, never."

Asked by NSAC member Luther Mack if the payment solicited by the IBF was atypical in comparison to the WBC or the WBA, Arum was somewhat elusive.

"Is it only the IBF?" he said, repeating the question. "I don't think so. But do I have any concrete evidence other than what I see with my own eyes? No."

Afterward, Arum was defensive when briefly queried by the media concerning a magazine article in which he allegedly said he bribed the WBA to finalize a 1983 fight between Ray Mancini and Art Frias. Arum said the money involved was a "loan" and that the bribery charge in that instance was erroneous.

"Mr. Arum and Top Rank have an extraordinary reputation," Arum's attorney, Judd Burstein, said at the hearing on his client's behalf. "This is one of those aberrational mistakes of judgment, a mistake made in a misguided effort to aid a fighter he had a relationship with. This is not someone who did something wrong and tried to hide it.

"He wears the admission as a badge of honor."

Arum later echoed the latter statement, saying "In a small way, I think it was heroic. It was a real help (to the government's case vs. the IBF)."

Foreman won the fight at the Thomas & Mack Center with the tougher-than-expected Schulz by 12-round unanimous decision. Arum said a recent auditing of the books for that fight determined that a profit of $500,000 had been made.

He gave a little back to keep his license and remain in good standing not only in Nevada, but throughout the world. "I would like to think other commissions will honor this ruling" and therefore keep him from having to repeat this hearing process on a state-by-state basis, Arum said.