Top Rank, Inc.
TypePrivately held company
IndustryBoxing promotion
PredecessorMain Bout
Founded1973 (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

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 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

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

Blow-by-blow
Color Commentator

Current boxers

BoxerNicknameNationalityWeightRecordTitle
Carlos AdamesDominican Republic DominicanWelterweight20-1 (16 KO)
Joseph Adorno"Blessed Hands"Puerto Rico Puerto RicanLightweight14–0–2 (12 KO)
Mike Alvarado"Mile High"United States AmericanWelterweight40–5 (28 KO)
Efe Ajagba"The Silent Roller"Nigeria NigerianHeavyweight15–1 (12 KO)
Jerwin Ancajas"Pretty Boy"Philippines FilipinoSuper flyweight32–2–2 (22 KO)
Jared Anderson“Big Baby”United States AmericanHeavyweight10–0 (10 KO)
Arnold Barboza Jr.United States AmericanLight welterweight26–0 (10 KO)
Raymundo Beltrán"Sugar"Mexico MexicanLightweight36–9–1 (22 KO)
José Benavidez"Merciless"United States AmericanWelterweight27–1 (18 KO)
Alexander BesputinRussia RussianWelterweight15–0 (11 KO)
Artur BeterbievRussia RussianLight heavyweight16–0 (16 KO)WBC, IBF, and lineal light heavyweight champion
Jeyvier Cintrón"Perrito"Puerto Rico Puerto RicanBantamweight11–1 (5 KO)
Michael Conlan"Mick"Republic of Ireland IrishSuper bantamweight17–1 (8 KO)
Robson ConceiçãoBrazil BrazilianSuper featherweight17–2 (8 KO)
Christopher Díaz"Pitufo"Puerto Rico Puerto RicanFeatherweight26–3 (16 KO)
Isaac Dogboe"Brave-Son"Ghana GhanaianFeatherweight22–2 (15 KO)
Esquiva FalcãoBrazil BrazilianSuper middleweight28–0 (20 KO)
Gabriel Flores Jr.United States AmericanLightweight20–1 (7 KO)
Tyson Fury"Gypsy King"United Kingdom BritishHeavyweight32–0–1 (23 KO)WBC & lineal heavyweight champion
Fazliddin GaibnazarovUzbekistan UzbekWelterweight9–1 (5 KO)
Jesse GarciaUnited States AmericanFeatherweight9–0 (5 KO)
Jose Gonzalez"Chocolatito"United States AmericanFeatherweight15–0–2 (5 KO)
Oleksandr Gvozdyk"The Nail"Ukraine UkrainianLight heavyweight17–1 (14 KO)
Jeff Horn"The Hornet"Australia AustralianWelterweight20–3–1 (13 KO)
Jesse Hart"Hard Work"United States AmericanSuper middleweight26–3 (21 KO)
Naoya Inoue"Monster"Japan JapaneseSuper Bantamweight25–0 (22 KO)WBC and WBO Super bantamweight champion
David KaminskyIsrael IsraeliLight middleweight6–1 (3 KO)
Bryant Jennings"By-By"United States AmericanHeavyweight24–4 (14 KO)
Egidijus KavaliauskasLithuania LithuanianWelterweight22–2–1 (18 KO)
Vasiliy Lomachenko"Loma"Ukraine UkrainianLightweight15–2 (11 KO)
José López"Chino"Puerto Rico Puerto RicanLight welterweight12–1 (10 KO)
Teófimo López"El Brooklyn"United States AmericanLightweight16–1 (12 KO)
Bryan LuaUnited States AmericanLightweight8–0 (3 KO)
Jessie MagdalenoUnited States AmericanSuper bantamweight28–1 (18 KO)
Miguel Marriaga"The Scorpion"Colombia ColombianFeatherweight30–4 (26 KO)
Mikaela MayerUnited States AmericanLight welterweight15–0 (5 KO)
Trevor McCumbyUnited States AmericanLight heavyweight25–0 (19 KO)
Kieran MolloyRepublic of Ireland IrishWelterweight4–0 (3 KO)
Andrew Moloney"The Monster"Australia AustralianSuper flyweight22–2–1 NC (14 KO)
Jason Moloney"Mayhem"Australia AustralianBantamweight26–2 (19 KO)WBO bantamweight Champion
Ryōta MurataJapan JapaneseMiddleweight16–3 (13 KO)
Emanuel Navarrete"Vaquero"Mexico MexicanFeatherweight34–1 (29 KO)WBO featherweight champion
Steve NelsonUnited States AmericanLight heavyweight17–0 (14 KO)
José Pedraza"Sniper"Puerto Rico Puerto RicanLightweight29–3 (14 KO)
Duke RaganUnited States AmericanFeatherweight
Jose RamírezUnited States AmericanLight welterweight26–1 (17 KO)
Casey Ramos"The Wizard"United States AmericanSuper featherweight24–1 (6 KO)
Mike Reed"Yes Indeed"United States AmericanLight welterweight25–2 (13 KO)
Jean Carlos RiveraPuerto Rico Puerto RicanFeatherweight16–2 (11 KO)
Julian Rodriguez"Hammer Hands"United States AmericanLight welterweight21–1 (14 KO)
Alex Saucedo"El Cholo"United States AmericanWelterweight30–2 (19 KO)
Joe Smith Jr."Irish Bomber"United States AmericanLight heavyweight27–3 (21 KO)WBO light heavyweight champion
Jason Sosa"El Canito"United States AmericanSuper featherweight23–4–4 (16 KO)
Genesis Servania"Kashimi"Philippines FilipinoFeatherweight34–4 (16 KO)
Shakur Stevenson"Sugar"United States AmericanLightweight19–0 (9 KO)
Josh Taylor"Tartan Tornado"United Kingdom BritishLight welterweight19–1 (13 KO)
Nicholas Walters"Axe Man"Jamaica JamaicanSuper featherweight26–1–1 (21 KO)
Óscar ValdezMexico MexicanSuper featherweight31–2 (23 KO)
Félix Verdejo"El Diamante"Puerto Rico Puerto RicanLightweight27–2 (17 KO)
Henry Lebrón"Moncho"Puerto Rico Puerto RicanLightweight14–0 (9 KO)
Xander ZayasPuerto Rico Puerto RicanLight middleweight15–0 (10 KO)
Charly Suarez"King's Warrior”Philippines FilipinoSuper featherweight16–0 (9 KO)

Notable fighters

Other events

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

  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. 1 2 3 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. 1 2 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.
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