As World Boxing News exclusively revealed on Friday, there is no longer a guarantee that Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder III will be next.
It was widely hoped the fight would be able to go ahead in October after the world was stuck down with a pandemic. However, this has now become much more complicated.
Social distancing measures in the United States and the United Kingdom mean fights on both sides of the Atlantic are set to go ahead without fans.
Fury’s promoter Bob Arum had elaborated on his previous revelation that a trilogy with Wilder was premature at this point.
No spectators would be allowed in the arena for bouts, which is a considerable blow for Fury vs Wilder III. Their last fight in February broke the heavyweight Box Office gate record.
This massive cash injection would have to be subsidized somehow, meaning Fury and Wilder are mulling over alternative options.
Asked whether Fury could be involved in a stay-busy bout as they wait for developments with Wilder, the Hall of Fame promoter was open to it.
“It depends on a lot of things,” Arum exclusively told World Boxing News. “One this is for sure, Fury belongs in the United States. He’s built up a tremendous, tremendous audience here.
“If the travel ban is lifted or is not as stringent, I would bring Fury over here to fight in a less-expensive fight than a Wilder fight.”
Arum concluded on how the Wilder third clash gets over the line: “Maybe we could even do the Wilder fight. But somehow, we would have to get it financed.”
Bob Arum on Tyson Fury
Arum was elaborating on his comments to WBN yesterday. He said: “We have a contract (with Wilder) for the third fight.
“We have punted it to October because July was too early. But who knows if we can do fights in October for spectators?
“Without the massive gate we did for the last fight (on February 22nd), the seventeen million US dollars, I don’t know how you do that.
“And then we have a further problem. That is the travel ban. I mean, Fury is back in the UK. Wilder is here in the United States.
“We have to see how Fury gets back into the United States with the travel ban. What’s he supposed to do, swim the Atlantic?
So again, to talk about a Fury-Wilder fight, it’s very premature until we see how this situation, not just involving boxing but the whole situation works itself out.
“We don’t really know.”
COVID-19 has decimated boxing. A lockdown of normal life was ordered in the UK and the US in March.
Without a vaccine, the planet faces months of social distancing that could last until next year.
The sport will not fully return until coronavirus cases, and deaths are controlled. Therefore, huge fights like Fury vs Wilder III could remain on the backburner without massive backing from investors.
Let’s hope ongoing trials work out.
