Within a span of twenty-four hours, Bob Arum, the promoter of the finest pound-for pound fighter in boxing today, had to transition from brushing off the ignorance of an attention-starved pugilistic virtuoso to coping with a tragedy on a deeply personal level.
While the sports world was continuing to react to Floyd Mayweather, Jr.’s profanity-laced and racially-charged video tirade criticizing Manny Pacquiao, Arum received the news that the five-day search for his missing son was over.
According to the Associated Press, a National Park Service helicopter located the body of John Arum, a 49-year-old Seattle environmental attorney, on a rugged Washington state mountain in North Cascades National Park Friday afternoon.
The body of Arum, the oldest son of Bob Arum, was spotted at about the 7,700-foot level on the north face of 8,500-foot Storm King Mountain, park spokeswoman Kerry Olson said. "His plan was to climb Storm King on Saturday, August 28, so it's probably a safe assumption that he fell that day," Olson added.
The next course of action is the retrieval of Arum’s body, which is situated in an area so difficult “that people can’t rappel down or climb up to it”, Olson said.
Bob Arum, a native of New York City and a New York University graduate, was at Los Angeles news conference on Tuesday, promoting the upcoming November 13 bout between Manny Pacquiao and Antonio Margarito, when he was given word that his son was missing.
Arum promptly left the news conference and boarded a flight to Seattle to assist in the rescue effort, which was hindered by inclement weather from the outset.
Like his father, who became a driving force behind boxing during the 1980’s, John Arum set the bar high in terms of personal achievement. According to family members, Arum’s fatal climb was part of his goal to reach the summit of the 100 highest peaks in Seattle; an endeavor that was more than three-quarters complete before he died.
Representatives of Bob Arum, a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, were not available for comment following the discovery of his son’s body.
Meanwhile, the CEO of Top Rank, Todd duBoef, who also happens to be Arum’s stepson, has taken over the promotion of the Pacquiao-Margarito fight in Arum’s absence according to NYDailyNews.com.
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Son of Famed Boxing Promoter Bob Arum Found Dead
