Columnist Dean Juipe: Arum doesn’t feel boxed in by hotel merger

Dean Juipe

Friday, June 25, 2004 | 9:45 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4084.

Conventional wisdom would seem to indicate the merger of MGM Mirage and Mandalay Resort Group will lead to reduced competition when it comes to bidding on major boxing events in the city.

After all, the number of potential bidders on a proposed fight will be reduced if not halved by the combining of the properties. Instead of a promoter being able to offer a fight to Mandalay Bay and the MGM -- which are the leading outlets for major boxing cards in Las Vegas -- and conceivably playing one against the other, following the merger a promoter will make only a single presentation to the MGM.

Las Vegas-based promoter Bob Arum acknowledges the "conventional wisdom" aspect of the argument while saying the "practical application" will be very much different.

He says the merger is welcome -- for him at least.

"I think it's a fantastic thing for my (Top Rank Inc.) business," Arum said Thursday from Los Angeles. "It's a real blessing as far as I'm concerned."

Other promoters, however, may not be as receptive to the merger, with Arum saying "it's a disaster" for rival promoter Don King and that King "has to be against it."

A third promotional firm, Main Events (of New Jersey), is taking a cautious, wait-and-see approach with the merger all but imminent.

"I follow Bob's reasoning and there's some validity to his position," said Main Events attorney Pat English. "But I don't have a feel for the dynamics of the situation just yet.

"Mandalay Bay and the MGM have obviously been huge players in boxing, and there's no reason to believe each would not continue in those roles. On the other hand, we don't know yet what their new management is going to look like.

"The short answer is, we just don't know what to expect."

But Arum thinks he does.

"When I do a deal with a (hotel-casino) property, I require them to buy a certain amount of tickets," he said. "Then I buy a certain amount of tickets; then the rest go to the public.

"Let's say I've been requiring the property to buy $100,000 worth of tickets, but after the merger I'll be able to say 'You have to buy $150,000 worth of tickets' because they'll have an even bigger casino base than they had before."

Arum said the cooperative effort that once existed among rival casinos when a major fight was in town has become a thing of the past.

"In the old days when Caesars Palace was doing the big fights, every casino would get involved," he said. "What's happened in recent years is that the others don't support an event at another property like they used to.

"So even if that doesn't change, with the MGM-Mandalay merger there will be more casinos involved in a (boxing) promotion than there had been (in recent years). I'll have a huge group of properties who are going to support my event no matter where it's held.

"To me, that's a great thing."

But what's good for Arum may not be good for King.

King, who did not respond to a Sun request to comment for this story, is not on particularly good terms with management at the MGM, nor is he licensed to promote fights in New Jersey. Setting aside the licensing ramifications (which Arum attempted to explain but are ambiguous at best), King, as English pointed out, "has a tendency to burn bridges and he's burned a few with the MGM."

(Arum believes King's licensing issue in New Jersey will prevent the post-merger MGM from dealing with King even if it wanted to.)

The result: Any attempt King may make to place a fight at one of the post-merger MGM properties may be met with complete indifference by those in charge of the corporation. While King has been able to place shows at Mandalay Bay (and has another one coming Sept. 4), the merger may significantly affect his options in Las Vegas.

Regardless, the merger will force promoters interested in doing business in Las Vegas -- "the boxing capital of the world" -- to maintain a pleasant, working relationship with whomever ends up in power at the restructured MGM.

Arum feels he will have that relationship.

Others are still waiting to see how it plays out.