Fact Check: Bob Arum Debunks Selling Top Rank to UFC and WWE Parent Company Rumors With Harsh Reality Check

Bob Arum, top honcho at Top Rank Boxing, has cleared the air about the rumors of selling his promotional company. Earlier today, 65-year-old Rick Glaser, a retired boxing matchmaker, claimed Arum’s Top Rank is in the final stages of being sold to Endeavor, home to WWE and UFC. However, it turned out to be the farthest thing from the truth!

Top Rank has been leading the boxing scene since its inception in 1996. Yet Glaser claimed at 92 and 58 years in the industry, Arum is retiring, and Dana White will take up the wheels for the company. The man in charge at UFC had previously expressed interest in acquiring a boxing promotion. Nevertheless, according to a tweet from Dan Rafael, Bob Arum was oblivious to all of that.

Bob Arum claims it’s all “Total crazy s**t”

Hours after Glaser’s tweet – breaking the alleged news of the sale – boxing journalist Dan Rafael revealed his conversation with Arum himself. Rafael claimed Arum texted him from Tokyo, where he was attending the fight between Naoya Inoue and Marlon Tapales. Arum claimed the rumors were false, suggesting he never spoke to anyone about it. He further added that he has no intentions of selling because he is having too much fun.

“Responding to rumor circulating that @BobArum is selling @trboxing to Endeavor, here’s what he texted me from Tokyo, where he’s at #InoueTapales: ‘Total crazy s**t. I have not talked about this with anyone. We are not for sale. I have no intention to retire. Having too much fun,’” read Rafael’s tweet. However, Arum wasn’t alone in putting out the flames of the rumors. 

Dana White denies the rumors

UFC’s tremendous success can be correctly credited to its president, Dana White, who stirred the company in the right direction. Besides his mixed martial arts giant, White also owns Power Slap, a slap-fighting promotion company based in Nevada, United States. In the past, White had expressed a desire to own a boxing promotion, so for him to buy Top Rank made sense.

However, turning to Instagram today, the president of Ultimate Fighting Championship claimed the rumors of him acquiring Top Rank were false. “Absolutely positively not true. We are not buying Top Rank,”  White wrote in his Instagram story. Alongside the caption that read, “Top Rank is being sold to Endeavor, home to UFC & WWE. Dana White now has his own boxing show.”

Also Read: Boxing’s Greatest Promoter Bob Arum turns 92 – All You need to know about Top Rank’s Boss and his achievements in the Sport

After Glaser broke the news about Arum selling his prized boxing company, a tweet from Dan Rafael put an end to the rumors. However, the bigger question is – did you think Arum really wanted to sell his company? 

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