LAS VEGAS – Was Bob Arum serious when he said Shane Mosley co-piloted a four-seater plane from Big Bear in California to this city of entertainment Tuesday?
Well, he did sound serious, and in fact, he wasn’t too happy about it.
“I found out about it this morning and I went crazy,” Arum said from atop the makeshift ring that was mounted at the main lobby of the MGM Grand Hotel.
The legendary promoter said Mosley flew out of Big Bear, his home for the past two months or so, on the tiny plane, with just the pilot and another companion.
“You think I would allow him to fly? I’m going to kick his ass,” Arum said.
Arum said it must have taken the fighter an hour to get here, just in time for the formal arrival ceremony for Mosley and Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao.
“It was more than dumb,” said the Top Rank chief, perhaps referring to Mosley for performing the stunt so close to the fight or the pilot himself for letting it happen.
Michael Marley of The Examiner asked Arum if he had another fighter on stand by in case something terrible happened, and the veteran boxing chronicler asked if Juan Manuel Marquez was around somewhere.
“It’s (Floyd) Mayweather,” said Arum, laughing.
Arum said he wasn’t sure if the 39-year-old fighter from Pomona had the license to fly.
What he knew was that Mosley had the license to fight.