Arum Drops Nunn After Fighter’s Lackluster Victory Over Barkley

Michael Nunn, who failed to sell out the 11,000-seat arena Monday night in Reno and was lackluster in his defense of the International Boxing Federation middleweight championship against Iran Barkley, was dropped Tuesday by promoter Bob Arum, one fight short of the expiration of their contract.

Arum said Monday that he had not wanted the fight in the Lawlor Events Center at the University of Nevada Reno, where it drew an embarrassingly small crowd of 5,900. Even worse, there were more boos than cheers when Nunn was given a majority decision, and most outspoken of all was Arum, who derisively called Nunn “an ESPN fighter” afterward.

Said Dan Goossen, Nunn’s manager: “(Nunn) wasn’t sharp . . . but I was a little disappointed over Arum’s comments. . . . “Bob and I came to an understanding a few weeks ago that we’d go our separate ways after this fight. We had one more Arum fight left under our contract, but we’ve both agreed to end our relationship.”

Arum was in San Francisco Tuesday, promoting his Dec. 7 Leonard-Duran fight, and could not be reached for comment.