ARUM'S TROUBLES COULD HURT THE SPORT.

Byline: ROBERT MORALES Boxing

When I first heard about the FBI raid of Bob Arum's Top Rank Inc., offices Tuesday in Las Vegas, a lot of things crossed my mind.

Almost immediately, I wondered what would happen to boxing if Top Rank went up in smoke. Already a maligned sport, could boxing survive losing one of its two most influential promoters?

``I think it would really put a major black eye on boxing,'' said promoter Gary Shaw of Gary Shaw Productions, which promotes Shane Mosley. ``Truthfully, he (Arum) and Don King in a lot of ways are the pioneers of the promoters of today, and they are the two biggest.

``I think the rest of us either strive to be there, or be somewhere near there in stature and operationally. But I do believe boxing would survive. I believe there are others out there, like myself, who are carrying the torch, whether they stay in business or don't stay in business.''

Other than Gary Shaw Productions, there are other mid-major promoters such as Main Events, Goossen Tutor, and Cedric Kushner Promotions. There is also Golden Boy Promotions, with Oscar De La Hoya as president.

Hall of Fame publicist Bill Caplan, who has long been Arum's right-hand man, pointed Sunday to Golden Boy Promotions as the promotional firm of the future.

``I think Oscar's company is the next big company,'' said Caplan, who was then asked what he thought Top Rank's demise would do to boxing. ``I don't think it would kill it, but I think it would hurt it. Boxing will always be around.''

Caplan, however, was quick to point out that Arum and Top Rank are far from through.

``Just because the FBI came in and took some papers doesn't mean Bob Arum did anything wrong,'' Caplan said. ``I talked to Bob (on Thursday) when he was on his way back from his vacation.

``He was laughing and joking and not the least bit worried. He knows he didn't do anything wrong.''

Other than the few words he put into a prepared statement, Arum has yet to comment on the raid, which included the seizure of computers, videotapes and various documents. According to Caplan, Arum is scheduled to meet this week with FBI officials.

After that, Caplan is hopeful he can convince Arum to talk.

``Silence is never good,'' Caplan said.

Boxing would take a big hit if Arum and Top Rank ever were shut down. Could the sport get off the canvas and fight back?

Perhaps. But we have to remember that boxing is already frowned upon by many. Fans see the ridiculous rankings of the so-called major governing bodies, they see the bad decisions, they spend their money to view mismatches.

It reminds me of something comedian George Carlin's said in the 1970s, when he was talking about the borderline psychotic who needed just one more thing to go wrong. Somebody put a bottle of Scope in his mailbox, and off the deep end went the psycho.

If Arum is guilty of improprieties that shock the boxing world, and he is forced to close his doors forever, that could be the bottle of Scope that sends the sport six feet under.

Dan Goossen, of Goossen Tutor, scoffed at that notion.

``When you're talking about one of the leaders, it would leave a void,'' said Goossen, of Sherman Oaks. ``But someone is always there, a person or entity, to step up and fill that void.

``Boxing is still a good industry, good for the fighters, good for those willing to go out and do right by it.''

Although Arum is a rival, Goossen said he is hopeful the raid was all about nothing.

``As dark as it is, I hope some of the presumptions law enforcement has about one of our own are not true,'' he said.

--Off the mark: Don't believe everything you read. The New York Daily News initially reported - via unnamed sources - the joint FBI/NYPD probe is linked to a fix of the De La Hoya-Mosley rematch last September in Las Vegas.

Mosley defeated De La Hoya by decision. De La Hoya is promoted by Arum. So, why would Arum fix a fight against his fighter? That's the only question you have to ask yourself.

Shaw, in a conference call Thursday, was livid at the notion his fighter's victory might be tainted.

``The story that appeared in the New York Daily News is preposterous,'' Shaw said. ``I question the journalist who would write something like that without doing research of their own.''

Shaw said that if the investigation centered on that fight, wouldn't all of the parties involved be contacted by the FBI? That would include Shaw, Mosley, Mosley's attorney Judd Burstein, De La Hoya and De La Hoya's representative, Richard Schaefer. Only Top Rank was contacted.

Caplan said he believes the scope of the 20-month scrutiny may involve lesser known fighters.

``I think they are looking at some matchmaking involving some fights with (Jorge) Paez, Butterbean and that one fight with Joey Torres,'' Caplan said.

``There are no laws against mismatches. That is what I think they are looking at. But actually paying someone to throw a fight? I would be shocked if it was something like that.''

Torres, of Los Angeles, was released from prison in 2002 after serving some 20 years on a murder conviction. On April 27 of that year, Torres fought Perry Williams at The Pond under the Top Rank banner.

Torres was knocked down seconds into the fight, but he went on to stop Williams in the second round. I did not see this fight. But many of my peers did and they said the fight did look suspicious, as Williams seemingly went down from a light punch.

The California State Athletic Commission investigated, but ultimately found nothing nefarious about the ending.

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Promoter Bob Arum, whose offices were raided by FBI investigators Tuesday, has issued a statement that he has done nothing wrong.

Joe Cavaretta/Associated Press