Top Rank
 Logo used since 2012. | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Bo xingpromotion |
| Predecessor | Main Bout |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Founder | |
| Headquarters | , United States |
Key people | Bob Arum (CEO) |
| Website | www |
Top Rank, Inc.is abo xingpromotional company founded byJabir Herbert MuhammadandBob Arum,which was incorporated in 1973, and is based inLas Vegas,Nevada.
Since its founding, Top Rank has promoted many world class fighters, includingMuhammad 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 VianelloandTyson 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 promotedGeorge Foreman's comeback to regain the world championship, culminating in the knockout of thenIBF/WBAchampionMichael Mooreron November 5, 1994.
History
[edit]Main Bout
[edit]The precursor to Top Rank was Main Bout, a company founded byMuhammad Aliin 1966 to promote his fights. Along with Muhammad Ali, other early equity owners of the company includedJabir Herbert Muhammad,Bob Arum,and John Ali (chief aide toNation of IslamleaderElijah Muhammad).[1]The company was founded after theMuhammad Ali vs. Floyd Pattersonfight, and the company mainly handled Ali's bo xing promotions andpay-per-viewclosed-circuit televisionbroadcasts in the late 1960s. The company's stockholders included several other fellow Nation of Islam members.[2]
Top Rank Bo xing on ESPN
[edit]In the early 1980s, Top Rank Bo xing and then-fledglingESPNformed a partnership to bring a weekly bo xing to the cable network which culminated with the first regularly televised bo xing series since 1964. The first event was held on April 10, 1980, inAtlantic City,when middleweight Frank Fletcher decisioned Ben Serrano.[3]The originalTop Rank Bo xing on ESPNwas the longest-running cable series and weekly bo xing series in history, after celebrating its 16th consecutive year in 1996. ESPN broke away from the contract afterward, replacing it withFriday Night Fights—a new series that would feature fights from other promotions and aired onESPN2.[4]
In July 2017, Top Rank began to soft launch a new broadcasting agreement with ESPN, beginning withManny 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 serviceESPN+), 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]- Kenneth Anderson(a.k.a Mr. Kennedy / Mr. Anderson)
Blow-by-blow
[edit]- Sal Marchiano(1980–1983)[11]
- Sam Rosen(1983–1986)[12]
- Al Bernstein(1986–1996)
- Don Chevrier(1987–1988)[13]
- Tom Kelly (1988–1989)
- Barry Tompkins(1989–1994)[14]
- Bob Papa(1996–2003)[15]
- Joe Tessitore(2003–present)
Color Commentator
[edit]- Al Bernstein(1980–1986, 1987–1998)[12]
- Tommy Hearns(1980)[12]
- Randy Gordon(1980–1982)[16]
- Donald Curry(1985)[17]
- Dave Bontempo (1986–1998)
- Teddy Atlas(1998–2017)[18]
- Andre Ward(2017–2023)
- Mark Kriegel(2017–present)
- Timothy Bradley(2020–present)
Current boxers
[edit]| Boxer | Nickname | Nationality | Weight | Record | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Efe Ajagba | "The Silent Roller" |  Nigerian |
Heavyweight | 20-1 (14 KO) | |
| Jared Anderson (boxer) | "The Real Big Baby" |  American |
Heavyweight | 17-1 (15 KO) | |
| Sonny Conto | American |
Heavyweight | 13-0 (10 KO) | ||
| Ali Feliz | American |
Heavyweight | 3-0 (2 KO) | ||
| Tyson Fury | "The Gypsy King" |  British |
Heavyweight | 34-1-1 (24 KO) | Former WBC World Champion |
| Bakhodir Jalolov |  Uzbekistani |
Heavyweight | 14-0 (14 KO) | ||
| Damian Knyba |  Polish |
Heavyweight | 13-0 (7 KO) | ||
| Arslanbek Makhmudov | "Lion" |  Canadian |
Heavyweight | 19-1 (18 KO) | |
| Brandon Moore | American |
Heavyweight | 14-1 (8 KO) | ||
| Richard Torrez Jr. | American |
Heavyweight | 10-0 (10 KO) | ||
| Guido Vianello |  Italian |
Heavyweight | 12-2-1 (10 KO) | ||
| Artur Beterbiev | Canadian |
Light heavyweight | 20-0 (20 KO) | WBC, WBO, IBF World Champion | |
| Nico Ali Walsh | "The Legend Lives On" | American |
Middleweight | 11-1-1 (5 KO) | |
| Janibek Alimkhanuly | "Qazaq Style" |  Kazakhstani |
Middleweight | 15-0 (10 KO) | WBO, IBF World Champion |
| Troy Isley | "The Transformer" | American |
Middleweight | 13-0 (5 KO) | |
| Javier Martinez | American |
Middleweight | 10-1-1 (3 KO) | ||
| Jahi Tucker | American |
Middleweight | 11-1-1 (5 KO) | ||
| Christian Mbilli | Canadian |
Super middleweight | 27-0 (23 KO) | ||
| Xander Zayas |  Puerto Rican |
Junior middleweight | 19-0 (12 KO) | ||
| Vito Mielnicki Jr. | "White Magic" | American |
Junior middleweight | 19-1 (13 KO) | |
| Art Barrera Jr. | American |
Welterweight | 6-0 (4 KO) | ||
| Mikaela Mayer | American |
Welterweight | 19-2 (5 KO) | Former IBF, WBO, Lineal World Champion | |
| Brian Norman Jr. | American |
Welterweight | 26-0 (20 KO) | WBO World Champion | |
| Giovani Santillan | American |
Welterweight | 32-1 (17 KO) | ||
| Kelvin Davis | American |
Junior welterweight | 13-0 (7 KO) | ||
| Lindolfo Delgado |  Mexican |
Junior welterweight | 20-0 (15 KO) | ||
| Tiger Johnson | American |
Junior welterweight | 13-0 (6 KO) | ||
| Teofimo Lopez | "Takeover" | American |
Junior welterweight | 21-1 (13 KO) | WBO World Champion |
| Sandor Martin |  Spanish |
Junior welterweight | 42-3 (15 KO) | ||
| Hugo Micallef | "Fresh Prince of Monaco" |  Monégasque |
Junior welterweight | 9-0 (2 KO) | |
| Jose Pedraza | "Sniper" | Puerto Rican |
Junior welterweight | 29-6 (14 KO) | Former IBF World Champion |
| Josh Taylor (boxer) | "Tartan Tornado" |  Scottish |
Junior welterweight | 19-2 (13 KO) | Former WBC, IBF, WBA, WBO, Lineal World Champion |
| Rohan Polanco |  Dominican |
Junior welterweight | 13-0 (8 KO) | ||
| Charlie Sheehy | American |
Junior welterweight | 10-0 (4 KO) | ||
| Emiliano Fernando Vargas | "El General" | American |
Junior welterweight | 11-0 (9 KO) | |
| Elvis Rodriguez | "The Dominican Kid" | Dominican |
Junior welterweight | 16-1-1 (13 KO) | |
| Keyshawn Davis | "The Businessman" | American |
Lightweight | 11-0 (7 KO) | |
| Alan Garcia | "Kid Kansas" | American |
Lightweight | 14-0 (12 KO) | |
| George Kambosos Jr. | "Ferocious" |  Australian |
Lightweight | 21-3 (10 KO) | Former IBF, WBO, WBA, Lineal World Champion |
| Vasiliy Lomachenko | "Loma" |  Ukrainian |
Lightweight | 18-3 (12 KO) | IBF World Champion |
| Abdullah Mason | American |
Lightweight | 14-0 (12 KO) | ||
| Raymond Muratalla | "Danger" | American |
Lightweight | 21-0 (16 KO) | |
| Robson Conceição |  Brazilian |
Junior lightweight | 19-2-1 (9 KO) | WBC World Champion | |
| Andres Cortes | American |
Junior lightweight | 22-0 (12 KO) | ||
| O’Shaquie Foster | "Icewater" | American |
Junior lightweight | 22-3 (12 KO) | Former WBC World Champion |
| Emanuel Navarrete | "El Vaquero" | Mexican |
Junior lightweight | 38-2-1 (31 KO) | WBO World Champion |
| Abraham Nova | Puerto Rican |
Junior lightweight | 23-3 (16 KO) | ||
| Oscar Valdez | Mexican |
Junior lightweight | 32-2 (24 KO) | WBO Interim World Champion | |
| Demler Zamora | American |
Junior lightweight | 13-0 (9 KO) | ||
| Bruce Carrington | "ShuShu" | American |
Featherweight | 12-0 (8 KO) | |
| Rafael Espinoza | Mexican |
Featherweight | 25-0 (21 KO) | WBO World Champion | |
| Albert Gonzalez | "ChopChop" | American |
Featherweight | 10-0 (6 KO) | |
| Arnold Khegai | Ukrainian |
Featherweight | 22-1-1 (14 KO) | ||
| Isaac Dogboe | "Royal Storm" |  Ghanaian |
Featherweight | 24-4 (15 KO) | Former WBO World Champion |
| Luis Alberto Lopez | "The Road Warrior" | Mexican |
Featherweight | 30-3 (17 KO) | Former IBF World Champion |
| Robeisy Ramirez | "El Tren" |  Cuban |
Featherweight | 14-2 (9 KO) | Former WBO World Champion |
| Naoya Inoue | "The Monster" |  Japanese |
Junior featherweight | 28-0 (25 KO) | WBO, WBC, IBF, WBA, Lineal World Champion |
| Jason Moloney | "Mayhem" | Australian |
Junior featherweight | 27-3 (19 KO) | Former WBO Champion |
| Andrew Moloney | Australian |
Junior bantamweight | 26-4 (16 KO) | ||
| Steven Navarro | “Kid Dynamite” | American |
Junior bantamweight | 2-0 (1 KO) | |
| Seniesa Estrada | "Superbad" | American |
Minimumweight | 26-0 (9 KO) | WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, Lineal World Champion |
| Floyd Diaz | "CashFlow" | American |
Bantamweight | 12-0 (3 KO) |
Notable fighters
[edit]- Muhammad Ali
- Mikey Garcia
- Miguel Cotto
- Floyd Mayweather
- Oscar De La Hoya
- Mike Alvarado
- Jorge Arce
- Urbano Antillon
- José Benavidez
- Timothy Bradley
- Iván Calderón
- José Luis Castillo
- Martín Castillo
- Julio César Chávez Jr
- Omar Chávez
- Joshua Clottey
- Bernabe Concepcion
- Terence Crawford
- Kid Diamond
- David Díaz
- Nonito Donaire
- Esquiva Falcão
- Yuri Foreman
- Yuriorkis Gamboa
- Miguel Angel Garcia
- Kendall Holt
- Demetrius Hopkins
- Miguel Angel Huerta
- Nobuhiro Ishida
- Jesus Soto Karass
- Vasiliy Lomachenko
- Juan Manuel Lopez
- Francisco Lorenzo
- Steven Luevano
- Antonio Margarito
- Raul Martinez
- Vanes Martirosyan
- Egor Mekhontsev
- Fernando Montiel
- Tommy Morrison
- Ryota Murata
- Manny Pacquiao
- Arnold Barboza Jr.
- Kelly Pavlik
- Anthony Peterson
- Lamont Peterson
- Hasim Rahman
- Brandon Rios
- Marco Antonio Rubio
- Andy Ruiz
- Mario Santiago
- Giovanni Segura
- Jorge Solís
- Ulises Solís
- Glen Tapia
- Anthony Thompson
- Ricardo Torres
- Brian Viloria
- José Luis Zertuche
- Shiming Zou
Other events
[edit]Early in its history, Top Rank promoted theSnake River Canyonjumpof daredevilEvel Knievelin September 1974.[19][20]The event, atTwin Falls, Idaho,was shown live on paid closed circuit television in hundreds of theaters, for about ten dollars each.[21][22][23]The steam-poweredSkycycle X-2had a premature deployment of its parachute and Knievel survived.[22]
References
[edit]- ^"Risk vs. Reward".Top Rank Bo xing.RetrievedSeptember 10,2018.
- ^Ezra, Michael (2013).The Economic Civil Rights Movement: African Americans and the Struggle for Economic Power.Routledge.p. 105.ISBN9781136274756.
- ^"40 Years of Top Rank Bo xing on ESPN".Big Fight Weekend.April 10, 2020.RetrievedDecember 16,2020.
- ^"No longer fighting, Top Rank, ESPN talk about fights".ESPN.ESPN Inc.3 September 2009.RetrievedJuly 1,2017.
- ^"Pacquiao-Horn To Air Live on ESPN, 9PM ET/6PM PT".Bo xing Scene.RetrievedJune 20,2017.
- ^"ESPN to televise Manny Pacquiao's next fight as part of new Top Rank agreement".Bloody Elbow (SB Nation).Vox Media. 19 June 2017.RetrievedJune 19,2017.
- ^"Vasyl Lomachenko, Terence Crawford to headline live ESPN cards in August".ESPN.ESPN Inc. 30 June 2017.RetrievedJuly 1,2017.
- ^"Top Rank signs exclusive 4-year deal with ESPN".ESPN.Retrieved2017-08-28.
- ^Ramos, Dino-Ray (August 26, 2017)."ESPN And Top Rank Announce Multi-Year Agreement For New Fight Series".Deadline Hollywood.Penske Media Corporation.RetrievedAugust 28,2017.
- ^Hayes, Dade (2018-08-02)."ESPN Sets Landmark Bo xing Deal With Top Rank Through 2025".Deadline.Retrieved2018-08-02.
- ^Alfano, Peter (July 12, 1983). "Embarrassing Night in Bo xing".The New York Times.
- ^abcWinderman, Ira (May 13, 1986)."ESPN's Bernstein Won't Go Down Without a Fight".Sun-Sentinel.Retrieved19 March2022.
- ^"Roundup Baseball".The Globe and Mail.September 24, 1987.
- ^Sarni, Jim (November 18, 1988). "Saturday is Dream for Football Fanatics".Sun Sentinel.
- ^Lindquist, Jerry (August 22, 1994). "Berman's Forecast on Redskins: Wait Till Next Year".Richmond Times - Dispatch.
- ^Katz, Michael; Johnson, Roy S. (October 19, 1982)."Announcer Loses".The New York Times.Retrieved14 January2022.
- ^Myslenski, Skip; Kay, Linds (August 29, 1985). "Odds & INS".Chicago Tribune.
- ^Pugmire, Lance (December 13, 2017)."Bo xing analyst Teddy Atlas is removed by ESPN from live fights".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedMay 10,2019.
- ^"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.
- ^abSellard, 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.
External links
[edit]- Professional bo xing promotion companies
- ESPN original programming
- Bo xing television series
- 1980 American television series debuts
- 1996 American television series endings
- 2017 American television series debuts
- 1980s American television series
- 1990s American television series
- 2000s American television series
- 2020s American television series
- Companies based in Paradise, Nevada
- Entertainment companies established in 1973
- American companies established in 1973
- 1973 establishments in Nevada