Bob Arum has become a house name to the sport of boxing. The 85-year-old promoter is the CEO and founder of Top Rank and has put together a series of exciting match ups throughout his career. Now it would appear that the legendary boxing promoter has come forward to reveal that he has been smoking cannabis in his free time for much of his career.
Speaking to CBS Sports, Arum revealed that, as a Nevada native, the promoter has been smoking for some time.
“The question is, if they gave me a VADA test, would I pass it?” Arum stated. “I don’t take performance-enhancing drugs, I mean, but I come from Nevada. So it’s legal now and I have a puff every now and then. I plead guilty to that. Other than that, I keep my body in pretty good shape.”
“I started [using marijuana] in 1966.” The promoter revealed. “Kids, young kids shouldn’t do it because your brain is being formulated. But in 1966, I was in my 30s and I started. I don’t do it at work, I do it for recreation. It’s good for you, it’s good for you. Cannabis is good for you!
“It’s these damn people during the Nixon administration that really put cannabis into the position where it was a drug like heroin and cocaine and that was wrong. Now I think people in states like Nevada, Colorado, Oregon, Washington and soon California, people will be able to go into places and buy it legally like I do in Nevada.”
Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. suffered a a nine month suspension back in 2012 after failing a drug test for marijuana following his loss to Sergio Martinez. Arum was promoting the fighter at the time and had some choice words on the matter.
“I was sorry that it happened, that he tested positive, but I’m not going to condemn a kid for smoking a joint a month before a fight to go to sleep,” Arum told FightHubTV back in 2012. “What the f— has happened? I mean, let’s be real about it. Let’s not be hypocrite about it.
“Cheating, performance-enhancing drugs; that’s wrong. Smoking a joint a month before a fight? Take a poll here. What kind of percentage do you think of people who’ve smoked a joint in the last month? So let’s be f**king real!”
