Top Rank
Top Rank, Inc. is a boxing promotional company founded by Jabir Herbert Muhammad and Bob Arum, which was incorporated in 1973, and is based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, including Muhammad Ali, Alexis Argüello, Oscar De La Hoya, Roberto Durán, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Marvin Hagler, Juan Manuel Marquez, Manny Pacquiao, Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Erik Morales, Thomas Hearns, Paulie Ayala, Iran Barkley, Michael Carbajal, Larry Holmes, Ray Mancini, Carlos Monzón, Terry Norris, Gabriel Ruelas, Rafael Ruelas, and James Toney.
The company has promoted such superfights as Hagler vs Leonard, Chavez vs De La Hoya, Holyfield vs Foreman, Foreman vs Moorer, Leonard vs Hearns, Hagler vs Hearns, Ali vs Frazier II and both Ali vs Spinks fights. The company also promoted George Foreman's comeback to regain the world championship, culminating in the knockout of then IBF/WBA champion Michael Moorer on November 5, 1994.
History
Main Bout
The precursor to Top Rank was Main Bout, a company founded by Muhammad Ali in 1966 to promote his fights. Along with Muhammad Ali, other early equity owners of the company included Jabir Herbert Muhammad, Bob Arum, and John Ali (chief aide to Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad).[1] The company was founded after Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson fight, and the company mainly handled Ali's boxing promotions and pay-per-view closed-circuit television broadcasts in the late 1960s. The company's stockholders included several other fellow Nation of Islam members.[2]
Top Rank Boxing on ESPN
In the early 1980s, Top Rank Boxing and then-fledgling ESPN formed a partnership to bring a weekly boxing to the cable network which culminated with the first regularly televised boxing series since 1964. The first event was held on April 10, 1980 in Atlantic City, when middleweight Frank Fletcher decisioned Ben Serrano. The original Top Rank Boxing on ESPN was the longest running cable series and weekly boxing series in history, after celebrating its 16th consecutive year in 1996.
On June 17, 2017, The Ring reported that Top Rank was nearing a two-year deal to air a package of fights on ESPN, citing growing dissatisfaction with cuts to HBO's boxing coverage that limited scheduling options for fights. Top Rank had declined to give HBO the rights to Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn. The partnership was also said to include access to ESPN's archives for a planned over-the-top service. On June 19, 2017, ESPN confirmed that it would broadcast Pacquiao vs. Horn, which will launch a revived version of Top Rank Boxing.[3]
Legal disputes
Top Rank was involved in a legal dispute with Golden Boy Promotions (owned by De La Hoya, whom the company formerly promoted) involving eight-division world champion Manny Pacquiao which was settled to allow for future Top Rank fighters facing Golden Boy Promotions fighters starting in Oct 2007 with Manny Pacquiao vs Marco Antonio Barrera 2, Miguel Cotto vs Shane Mosley in November 2007, Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Márquez 2 on March 8, Bernard Hopkins Vs Kelly Pavlik in Nov 08, De La Hoya vs Pacquiao in Dec 08, Mosley Vs Antonio Margarito in Jan 2009, and Pacquiao vs Ricky Hatton in May 2009.
Top Rank owner Bob Arum has also had a long-standing feud with owner of Don King Promotions, Don King. The two have been accused of having a strangle hold over the sport of boxing and have had several altercations over the forty plus years they have been competing with each other.
Current boxers
| Boxer | Nickname | Nationality | Weight | Record | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Adames |  | Welterweight | 14–0 (11 KO) | ||
| Joseph Adorno | "Blessed Hands" |  | Lightweight | 9–0 (9 KO) | |
| Mike Alvarado | "Mile High" |  | Welterweight | 39–4 (27 KO) | |
| Jerwin Ancajas | "Pretty Boy" |  | Super flyweight | 30–1–1 (20 KO) | IBF Super flyweight champion |
| Arnold Barboza Jr. | | Light welterweight | 18–0 (6 KO) | ||
| Raymundo Beltrán | "Sugar" |  | Lightweight | 35–8–1 (21 KO) | |
| José Benavidez | "Merciless" | | Welterweight | 27–0 (18 KO) | |
| Alexander Besputin |  | Light middleweight | 10–0 (8 KO) | ||
| Carlos Castro | | Super bantamweight | 20–0 (9 KO) | ||
| Jeyvier Cintrón | "Perrito" | | Bantamweight | 6–0 (4 KO) | |
| Michael Conlan | "Mick" |  | Super bantamweight | 8–0 (5 KO) | |
| Robson Conceição |  | Lightweight | 8–0 (5 KO) | ||
| Terence Crawford | "Bud" | | Welterweight | 33–0 (24 KO) | WBO Welterweight champion |
| Maxim Dadashev | "Mad Max" | | Light welterweight | 11–0 (10 KO) | |
| Erick De Leon | | Super featherweight | 17–0–1 (10 KO) | ||
| Christopher Díaz | "Pitufo" | | Featherweight | 23–1 (15 KO) | |
| Isaac Dogboe | "Brave-Son" |  | Super bantamweight | 20–0 (14 KO) | WBO Super bantamweight champion |
| Esquiva Falcão | | Super middleweight | 20–0 (14 KO) | ||
| Paul Fleming | "Showtime" |  | Super featherweight | 25–0 (17 KO) | |
| Gabriel Flores Jr. | | Lightweight | 9–0 (5 KO) | ||
| Fazliddin Gaibnazarov |  | Welterweight | 4–0 (2 KO) | ||
| Jesse Garcia | | Featherweight | 6–0 (4 KO) | ||
| Jose Gonzalez | "Chocolatito" | | Featherweight | 9–0–2 (2 KO) | |
| Oleksandr Gvozdyk | "The Nail" |  | Light heavyweight | 15–0 (12 KO) | WBC Interim Light heavyweight champion |
| Jeff Horn | "The Hornet" | | Welterweight | 18–1–1 (12 KO) | |
| Jesse Hart | "Hard Work" | | Super middleweight | 24–1 (20 KO) | |
| David Kaminsky |  | Light middleweight | 2–0 (1 KO) | ||
| Bryant Jennings | "By-By" | | Heavyweight | 23–2 (13 KO) | |
| Egidijus Kavaliauskas |  | Welterweight | 20–0 (16 KO) | ||
| Vasyl Lomachenko | "Hi-Tech" | | Super featherweight | 11–1 (9 KO) | WBA & The Ring Lightweight champion |
| José López | "Chino" | | Light welterweight | 11–1 (9 KO) | |
| Teófimo López | "El Brooklyn" |  | Lightweight | 10–0 (8 KO) | |
| Bryan Lua | | Lightweight | 5–0 (2 KO) | ||
| Quilisto Madera | "Quilo the Kid" | | Middleweight | 10–1 (7 KO) | |
| Jessie Magdaleno | | Super bantamweight | 25–1 (18 KO) | ||
| Miguel Marriaga | "The Scorpion" |  | Featherweight | 26–3 (22 KO) | |
| Mikaela Mayer | | Light welterweight | 6–0 (3 KO) | ||
| Trevor McCumby | | Light heavyweight | 23–0 (18 KO) | ||
| Ryōta Murata |  | Middleweight | 14–1 (11 KO) | WBA (Regular) Middleweight champion | |
| Steve Nelson | | Light heavyweight | 11–0 (9 KO) | ||
| Isidro Ochoa | | Lightweight | 5–0 (1 KO) | ||
| Manny Pacquiao | "Pac Man" | | Welterweight | 60–7–2 (39 KO) | |
| Víctor Padilla | | Lightweight | 4–0 (4 KO) | ||
| Joseph Parker |  | Heavyweight | 24–1 (18 KO) | ||
| José Pedraza | "Sniper" | | Lightweight | 25–1 (12 KO) | WBO Lightweight champion |
| Konstantin Ponomarev | "Talant" | | Welterweight | 34–0 (13 KO) | |
| Gilberto Ramírez | "Zurdo" | | Super middleweight | 38–0 (25 KO) | WBO Super middleweight champion |
| Jose Ramírez | | Light welterweight | 22–0 (16 KO) | WBC Light welterweight champion | |
| Casey Ramos | "The Wizard" | | Super featherweight | 24–1 (6 KO) | |
| Mike Reed | "Yes Indeed" | | Light welterweight | 23–2 (12 KO) | |
| Jean Carlos Rivera | | Featherweight | 15–0 (10 KO) | ||
| Julian Rodriguez | "Hammer Hands" | | Light welterweight | 16–0 (10 KO) | |
| Andy Ruiz | "Destroyer" | | Heavyweight | 31–1 (20 KO) | |
| Alex Saucedo | "El Cholo" | | Welterweight | 28–0 (18 KO) | |
| Jason Sosa | "El Canito" | | Super featherweight | 20–3–4 (15 KO) | |
| Genesis Servania | "Kashimi" | | Featherweight | 31–1 (14 KO) | |
| Shakur Stevenson | | Bantamweight | 7–0 (4 KO) | ||
| Nicholas Walters | "Axe Man" |  | Super featherweight | 26–1–1 (21 KO) | |
| Óscar Valdez | | Featherweight | 24–0 (19 KO) | WBO Featherweight champion | |
| Danny Valdivia | | Light middleweight | 14–2 (10 KO) | ||
| Antonio Vargas | "No Respect" | | Super flyweight | 6–0 (3 KO) | |
| Bryan Vázquez | "El Tiquito" |  | Super featherweight | 36–3 (20 KO) | |
| Andy Vences | "The Shark" | | Lightweight | 21–0–1 (12 KO) | |
| Félix Verdejo | "El Diamante" | | Lightweight | 23–1 (15 KO) | |
| Henry Lebrón | "Moncho" | | Lightweight | 6–0 (4 KO) | |
| Lenny Zappavigna | "Lenny Zappa" | | Light welterweight | 37–4 (27 KO) | |
Notable
Other events
Early in its history, Top Rank promoted the Snake River Canyon jump of daredevil Evel Knievel in September 1974.[4][5] The event, at Twin Falls, Idaho, was shown live on paid closed circuit television in hundreds of theaters, for about ten dollars each.[6][7][8] The steam-powered Skycycle X-2 had a premature deployment of its parachute and Knievel survived.[7]
References
- ↑ "Risk vs. Reward". Top Rank Boxing. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
- ↑ Ezra, Michael (2013). The Economic Civil Rights Movement: African Americans and the Struggle for Economic Power. Routledge. p. 105. ISBN 9781136274756.
- ↑ "ESPN to televise Manny Pacquiao's next fight as part of new Top Rank agreement". Bloody Elbow (SB Nation). Vox Media. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ↑ "Is he an athlete, daredevil, promoter, hoax, or a nut?". Spartanburg Herald. South Carolina. Associated Press. June 25, 1974. p. B2.
- ↑ "Congressman says Evel bad influence on kids". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. September 4, 1974. p. 2.
- ↑ "Evel Knievel canyon leap today". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. September 8, 1974. p. 16.
- 1 2 Sellard, Dan (September 9, 1974). "Evel Knievel's leap at canyon ends in draw". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1B.
- ↑ "Snake River Canyon Jump". Chicago Tribune. (advertisement). September 6, 1974. p. 2, section 3.