Arum mixes it up in discussing MMA

Did boxing promoter Bob Arum have a Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder moment Friday?

When asked during a radio interview about comments he recently made in reference to mixed martial arts, Arum emphatically denied that his remarks were homoerotic.

In the interview with Dave Berns on KNPR's "State of Nevada," Arum, 77, said that his comments in September were videotaped "so it's impossible to misquote me. I said nothing of the kind."

"What I said was, mixed martial arts to me, when I look at it, are two guys who can't throw punches, who can't throw punches correctly, which they can't, if they get hit, can't take a punch."

Continuing, he said, most of it involves "two men wrestling each other on the ground like homosexuals." That, he said, has "nothing to do with homoerotic."

It's "two men wrestling on the ground, grappling on the ground as if they are making love to each other," he said.

When Berns said he thought Arum's remarks would be "offensive to the audience," Arum said, "well then it's because generally there wouldn't be two men on the ground rolling around making love to each other. They probably would be homosexuals. Straight guys don't do that."

Berns: "Are you saying these MMA fighters ..."

"Of course not," said Arum.

Berns: "... are mimicking lovemaking in some sense?"

"Yah, yah," said Arum. "I would say that the grappling on the ground is like lovemaking. It isn't lovemaking but it looks like it."

"Why do you think it's popular then," said Berns.

"I don't think it is popular outside this narrow demographic. And let me tell why: The narrow demographic is young white males. They look at the MMA fighters, and they see themselves. ... 90 percent of the MMA fighters are white males. You look at boxing where you have to compete at the top level, and the number of white fighters, particularly from the United States, you can count on the fingers of one hand. Kelly Pavlik, maybe Yuri Foreman, and who else after that?

"So these people would rather not see a Floyd Mayweather or the Manny Pacquiaos, the Cesar Chavez Juniors because they don't relate to those people because they are not white males."

"Do you think MMA fans are racist?" asked Berns.

"They're not racists," said Arum, now clearly agitated. "What the hell are you talking about? Nobody is racist because a guy wants to see somebody that looks like himself performing in an athletic contest. Racist? Of course, he's not racist. Ridiculous."

Snyder, an NFL color analyst for CBS in the 1970s and 1980s, was fired for his racial comments about black athletes.

SIGHTINGS

President George W. Bush, speaking Friday at the Marcus Evans Corporate Counsel Summit at Red Rock Resort. ... New York Yankees' ace CC Sabathia, walking through Wynn Las Vegas on Friday. ... At the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto weigh-in on Friday at the MGM Grand: New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs, "Entourage" star Jeremy Piven and boxing legend Roberto Duran. ... The band Foreigner, filming a video at Red Rock Resort and in front of the hotel at Green Valley Ranch during the week. It's for "When It Comes To Love," the first single from their first new album in over 15 years. The album, titled "Can't Slow Down," is part of a three-disc set that was recently released. All the band members were present: Mick Jones, the band's founder and legendary songwriter/guitarist, singer Kelly Hansen, bassist Jeff Pilson, guitarist Tom Gimbel, keyboardist Michael Bluestein, and drummer Brian Tichy. ... At Tao (Venetian) on Thursday: reality star NeNe Leakes celebrating the season-wrap party for her show, "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." Earlier in the day Leakes had lunch at Dos Caminos inside The Palazzo.

THE PUNCH LINE

"Well folks, it's happened again. This time at Heathrow Airport. A pilot was pulled off a United Airlines jet before take-off because he was drunk. Why is this happening? Here's how drunk the guy was. He was pulled off a United jet, but he was a Delta pilot. That's a bad sign." -- Jay Leno

Norm Clarke can be reached at (702) 383-0244 or norm@reviewjournal.com. Find additional sightings and more online at www.normclarke.com.