Top Rank

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Top Rank, Inc.
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryBoxing promotion
PredecessorMain Bout
Founded1973; 51 years ago (1973)
Founder
Headquarters,
United States
Key people
Bob Arum (CEO)
Websitewww.toprank.com

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, Terence Crawford, Oscar De La Hoya, Roberto Durán, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Marvin Hagler, Juan Manuel Márquez, Manny Pacquiao, Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Érik Morales, Thomas Hearns, Paulie Ayala, Iran Barkley, Michael Carbajal, Larry Holmes, Ray Mancini, Carlos Monzón, Terry Norris, Gabriel Ruelas, Rafael Ruelas, James Toney, Kubrat Pulev, Guido Vianello and Tyson Fury.

The company has promoted such superfights as Hagler vs Leonard, Chávez 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[edit]

Main Bout[edit]

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 the 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[edit]

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.[3] 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. ESPN broke away from the contract afterward, replacing it with Friday Night Fights—a new series that would feature fights from other promotions and aired on ESPN2.[4]

In July 2017, Top Rank began to soft launch a new broadcasting agreement with ESPN, beginning with Manny Pacquiao vs. Jeff Horn,[5][6] followed by two more cards in August.[7] That month, ESPN officially announced a multi-year agreement, calling for events airing across ESPN linear and digital properties (including its recently-launched subscription service ESPN+), and an option to carry events on pay-per-view.[8][9] On August 2, 2018, ESPN extended the agreement through 2025.[10]

Announcers[edit]

Blow-by-blow[edit]
Color Commentator[edit]

Current boxers[edit]

Boxer Nickname Nationality Weight Record Title
Carlos Adames Dominican Republic Dominican Welterweight 20-1 (16 KO)
Joseph Adorno "Blessed Hands" Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Lightweight 14–0–2 (12 KO)
Mike Alvarado "Mile High" United States American Welterweight 40–5 (28 KO)
Efe Ajagba "The Silent Roller" Nigeria Nigerian Heavyweight 15–1 (12 KO)
Jerwin Ancajas "Pretty Boy" Philippines Filipino Super flyweight 32–2–2 (22 KO)
Jared Anderson “Big Baby” United States American Heavyweight 10–0 (10 KO)
Arnold Barboza Jr. United States American Light welterweight 26–0 (10 KO)
Raymundo Beltrán "Sugar" Mexico Mexican Lightweight 36–9–1 (22 KO)
José Benavidez "Merciless" United States American Welterweight 27–1 (18 KO)
Alexander Besputin Russia Russian Welterweight 15–0 (11 KO)
Artur Beterbiev Russia Russian Light heavyweight 16–0 (16 KO) WBC, IBF, and lineal light heavyweight champion
Jeyvier Cintrón "Perrito" Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Bantamweight 11–1 (5 KO)
Michael Conlan "Mick" Republic of Ireland Irish Super bantamweight 17–1 (8 KO)
Robson Conceição Brazil Brazilian Super featherweight 17–2 (8 KO)
Christopher Díaz "Pitufo" Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Featherweight 26–3 (16 KO)
Isaac Dogboe "Brave-Son" Ghana Ghanaian Featherweight 22–2 (15 KO)
Esquiva Falcão Brazil Brazilian Super middleweight 28–0 (20 KO)
Gabriel Flores Jr. United States American Lightweight 20–1 (7 KO)
Tyson Fury "Gypsy King" United Kingdom British Heavyweight 32–0–1 (23 KO) WBC & lineal heavyweight champion
Fazliddin Gaibnazarov Uzbekistan Uzbek Welterweight 9–1 (5 KO)
Jesse Garcia United States American Featherweight 9–0 (5 KO)
Jose Gonzalez "Chocolatito" United States American Featherweight 15–0–2 (5 KO)
Oleksandr Gvozdyk "The Nail" Ukraine Ukrainian Light heavyweight 17–1 (14 KO)
Jeff Horn "The Hornet" Australia Australian Welterweight 20–3–1 (13 KO)
Jesse Hart "Hard Work" United States American Super middleweight 26–3 (21 KO)
Naoya Inoue "Monster" Japan Japanese Super Bantamweight 25–0 (22 KO) WBC and WBO Super bantamweight champion
David Kaminsky Israel Israeli Light middleweight 6–1 (3 KO)
Bryant Jennings "By-By" United States American Heavyweight 24–4 (14 KO)
Egidijus Kavaliauskas Lithuania Lithuanian Welterweight 22–2–1 (18 KO)
Vasiliy Lomachenko "Loma" Ukraine Ukrainian Lightweight 15–2 (11 KO)
José López "Chino" Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Light welterweight 12–1 (10 KO)
Teófimo López "El Brooklyn" United States American Lightweight 16–1 (12 KO)
Bryan Lua United States American Lightweight 8–0 (3 KO)
Jessie Magdaleno United States American Super bantamweight 28–1 (18 KO)
Miguel Marriaga "The Scorpion" Colombia Colombian Featherweight 30–4 (26 KO)
Mikaela Mayer United States American Light welterweight 15–0 (5 KO)
Trevor McCumby United States American Light heavyweight 25–0 (19 KO)
Kieran Molloy Republic of Ireland Irish Welterweight 4–0 (3 KO)
Andrew Moloney "The Monster" Australia Australian Super flyweight 22–2–1 NC (14 KO)
Jason Moloney "Mayhem" Australia Australian Bantamweight 26–2 (19 KO) WBO bantamweight Champion
Ryōta Murata Japan Japanese Middleweight 16–3 (13 KO)
Emanuel Navarrete "Vaquero" Mexico Mexican Featherweight 34–1 (29 KO) WBO featherweight champion
Steve Nelson United States American Light heavyweight 17–0 (14 KO)
José Pedraza "Sniper" Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Lightweight 29–3 (14 KO)
Duke Ragan United States American Featherweight
Jose Ramírez United States American Light welterweight 26–1 (17 KO)
Casey Ramos "The Wizard" United States American Super featherweight 24–1 (6 KO)
Mike Reed "Yes Indeed" United States American Light welterweight 25–2 (13 KO)
Jean Carlos Rivera Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Featherweight 16–2 (11 KO)
Julian Rodriguez "Hammer Hands" United States American Light welterweight 21–1 (14 KO)
Alex Saucedo "El Cholo" United States American Welterweight 30–2 (19 KO)
Joe Smith Jr. "Irish Bomber" United States American Light heavyweight 27–3 (21 KO) WBO light heavyweight champion
Jason Sosa "El Canito" United States American Super featherweight 23–4–4 (16 KO)
Genesis Servania "Kashimi" Philippines Filipino Featherweight 34–4 (16 KO)
Shakur Stevenson "Sugar" United States American Lightweight 19–0 (9 KO)
Josh Taylor "Tartan Tornado" United Kingdom British Light welterweight 19–1 (13 KO)
Nicholas Walters "Axe Man" Jamaica Jamaican Super featherweight 26–1–1 (21 KO)
Óscar Valdez Mexico Mexican Super featherweight 31–2 (23 KO)
Félix Verdejo "El Diamante" Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Lightweight 27–2 (17 KO)
Henry Lebrón "Moncho" Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Lightweight 14–0 (9 KO)
Xander Zayas Puerto Rico Puerto Rican Light middleweight 15–0 (10 KO)
Charly Suarez "King's Warrior” Philippines Filipino Super featherweight 16–0 (9 KO)

Notable fighters[edit]

Other events[edit]

Early in its history, Top Rank promoted the Snake River Canyon jump of daredevil Evel Knievel in September 1974.[19][20] The event, at Twin Falls, Idaho, was shown live on paid closed circuit television in hundreds of theaters, for about ten dollars each.[21][22][23] The steam-powered Skycycle X-2 had a premature deployment of its parachute and Knievel survived.[22]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Risk vs. Reward". Top Rank Boxing. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  2. ^ Ezra, Michael (2013). The Economic Civil Rights Movement: African Americans and the Struggle for Economic Power. Routledge. p. 105. ISBN 9781136274756.
  3. ^ "40 Years of Top Rank Boxing on ESPN". Big Fight Weekend. April 10, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "No longer fighting, Top Rank, ESPN talk about fights". ESPN.com. ESPN Inc. 3 September 2009. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  5. ^ "Pacquiao-Horn To Air Live on ESPN, 9PM ET/6PM PT". Boxing Scene. Retrieved June 20, 2017.
  6. ^ "ESPN to televise Manny Pacquiao's next fight as part of new Top Rank agreement". Bloody Elbow (SB Nation). Vox Media. 19 June 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2017.
  7. ^ "Vasyl Lomachenko, Terence Crawford to headline live ESPN cards in August". ESPN.com. ESPN Inc. 30 June 2017. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  8. ^ "Top Rank signs exclusive 4-year deal with ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
  9. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (August 26, 2017). "ESPN And Top Rank Announce Multi-Year Agreement For New Fight Series". Deadline Hollywood. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved August 28, 2017.
  10. ^ Hayes, Dade (2018-08-02). "ESPN Sets Landmark Boxing Deal With Top Rank Through 2025". Deadline. Retrieved 2018-08-02.
  11. ^ Alfano, Peter (July 12, 1983). "Embarrassing Night in Boxing". The New York Times.
  12. ^ a b c Winderman, Ira (May 13, 1986). "ESPN's Bernstein Won't Go Down Without a Fight". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Roundup Baseball". The Globe and Mail. September 24, 1987.
  14. ^ Sarni, Jim (November 18, 1988). "Saturday is Dream for Football Fanatics". Sun Sentinel.
  15. ^ Lindquist, Jerry (August 22, 1994). "Berman's Forecast on Redskins: Wait Till Next Year". Richmond Times - Dispatch.
  16. ^ Katz, Michael; Johnson, Roy S. (October 19, 1982). "Announcer Loses". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  17. ^ Myslenski, Skip; Kay, Linds (August 29, 1985). "Odds & INS". Chicago Tribune.
  18. ^ Pugmire, Lance (December 13, 2017). "Boxing analyst Teddy Atlas is removed by ESPN from live fights". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 10, 2019.
  19. ^ "Is he an athlete, daredevil, promoter, hoax, or a nut?". Spartanburg Herald. South Carolina. Associated Press. June 25, 1974. p. B2.
  20. ^ "Congressman says Evel bad influence on kids". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. September 4, 1974. p. 2.
  21. ^ "Evel Knievel canyon leap today". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. September 8, 1974. p. 16.
  22. ^ a b Sellard, Dan (September 9, 1974). "Evel Knievel's leap at canyon ends in draw". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1B.
  23. ^ "Snake River Canyon Jump". Chicago Tribune. (advertisement). September 6, 1974. p. 2, section 3.

External links[edit]