Ron Kantowski takes it in as boxing promoter Bob Arum rants about a fine against fighter Jose Luis Castillo, with political analysis thrown in

Friday, June 22, 2007 | 8:57 a.m.

I went to ask Bob Arum about the battle lines being drawn between traditional sports and ones The Kids like.

Arum, the perpetually engaging boxing promoter, has been an outspoken critic of mixed martial arts, calling the Ultimate Fighting Championship "boring and absurd."

Yesterday, Arum thought the UFC was absurd. Today, he still thinks it's absurd - although, on further review, he said there's nothing boring about the way the UFC presents its fights.

So he has copied it.

At the recent Miguel Cotto vs. Zab Judah fight at a sold-out Madison Square Garden - who said boxing was dead? - Arum leased some lasers and a DJ to whip the crowd into a frenzy, just in case Cotto and Judah weren't up to it (they were, slamming each other with fists of fury that could be felt across the river in Jersey).

It was a radical departure for Arum, so he hired Justin Hoffman, Abbie's nephew, to spin the vinyl.

"We could tell what a difference the appropriate music made," said Arum, looking fit and nearly as tanned as those Back East writers who used to cover his fights. "And to see these people dancing in the aisles, that was something. It was not only a great fight, but a great night."

Although Arum went on to say the UFC guys still "fight like girls," he ended our conversation without once raising his voice, which probably meant he was in a good mood or I didn't ask the right questions.

But where there is smoke, there is Bob Arum. Ten minutes later I heard a crackling sound in the back of the room. Either a necktie-wearing reporter had spontaneously combusted in the sweatbox that is the Top Rank gym or Arum, who promotes the other guy (Jose Luis Castillo) in Saturday's Ricky Hatton fight at the Thomas & Mack Center, was getting fired up about something.

When I heard "REPUBLICANS" and "WAR IN IRAQ" spoken in capital letters, I knew it had to be the latter. A minute later I spotted a reporter from one of the Spanish-speaking networks sporting a bemused expression.

"All I did was ask about the gloves," said the reporter, appearing a little stunned.

Rookie, I guess.

Those who know the Human Soundbite Machine quickly made their way to where he was holding court, clicked on their tape recorders and, as Bruce Springsteen said about the poets down in Jungleland, just stood back and let it all be.

It was a question about the Nevada State Athletic Commission's decision to fine Castillo $250,000 for failing to make weight against Diego Corrales that had lit Arum's fuse.

"I like the guys on the commission, they are good guys. But they're (expletive) Republicans," Arum said.

One of the British writers asked if Arum was a liberal.

"Of course I'm a liberal. Don't I look intelligent?" he shot back. Before he started playing Rock 'em, Sock 'em Robots with Don King, Arum was a Harvard-educated lawyer who worked in John Kennedy's White House.

There was a follow-up question about Castillo's fine.

"It bankrupted him. He couldn't feed his family because he couldn't fight because every commission in the United States had to (honor) that suspension. It was Draconian. Imposed by Republicans," Arum spat.

"Have you ever asked what happens to that fine money? He pays $250,000. What happens to it? Now if it goes into a fund for boxers who are injured, if it goes into some pension fund for boxers, maybe there's an argument."

But then Arum's voice raised to DEFCON 2 and there was no stopping him. Not that anybody wanted him stopped.

"But no. They grabbed that money, and it goes into the state general fund - into the budget of the guys who appointed them to the commission. It's awful. Nobody will take a stand, but I'm old and I don't give a (expletive).

"Nobody will take a stand because they don't want retribution from the commission. I really mean this, it's not personal. Every one of those guys on the commission is a good guy, is an honest guy. But they're Republicans, and they've got a different mind-set."

At least Arum didn't blame it on Larry Merchant, like everybody else in boxing.

"Look," he said. "Every state in the United States, fighters 135, 140 pounds, fight with 8-ounce gloves. Here, they mandated 10-ounce gloves. They let the UFC guys, 300 pounds, fight with 4-ounce gloves, but that's another story for another day."

But there were still lots of stories for this day.

"Stay the course! It ain't gonna change. Kill more people in Iraq. Don't admit you made a mistake. Stay the course. You're a Republican."

When Arum would go off on a rant like that, we used to call it Arum Scarum. And this one was classic.

Another British reporter asked about the UFC, whether Arum believed it was as serious a rival to boxing as the guys at the Spike Channel believe.

"I don't think it's competitive from the standpoint of the actual contest," he said. "They certainly have a better presentation than the boxing people do. They have attracted a very young audience, but look who they appeal to ..."

Uh-oh. Here it comes again.

"Republicans?" one of the British writers joked.

"No, no. Look at the UFC fighters. Ninety-something percent are big white guys from the Midwest. Look at boxing. It's like a rainbow. Blacks, Mexicans, English ... all ... different."

Somebody posed a legitimate question that did not allude to political affiliation or big white guys from the Midwest, and although Arum responded with his usual honesty and insight, I detected one or two red lights on tape recorders flashing off.

But then he was asked if he believed Floyd Mayweather, whom he used to promote, was truly retired. And it wasn't long before the red lights flashed back on.

"He's retired now while he has $20 million in the bank," Arum said. "This kid Mayweather goes into a nightclub, doesn't drink, orders the most expensive champagne, has piles of $100 bills and this new thing, throws them at the crowd because he likes them to jump after them. So eventually he'll run out of money and then he'll look to fight somebody."

By then, it was getting really hot in the Top Rank gym, which is covered with faux brick wallpaper to make it look tougher - or hotter. The guys with the big, black SUVs, who were blocking in the British reporters in the tiny parking lot, began to move them. So the group around Arum began to dissipate, surely preventing a five-minute discourse on Paris Hilton or the last episode of "The Sopranos."

But before all the red lights on all the tape recorders went off, he did say he planned to renew his UNLV season basketball tickets.

"Yeah, yeah, this guy is a good coach," Arum said. "I like (Lon) Kruger, and I was delighted for Reggie Theus (a former UNLV standout who this week was named coach of the Sacramento Kings)."

"Local bull," Arum nodded to the British reporters before somebody claiming affiliation with BBC Radio stuck a microphone in his face and another red light flashed on.

"Let me tell you about those Tories ..."

Ron Kantowski can be reached at 259-4088 or at ron@lasvegassun.com.