Top Rank promoter Bob Arum has moved to outline how and potentially when Las Vegas will again be in a position to host boxing events.
As WBN was informed last month by the Hall of Famer, the Top Rank Gym in Nevada is being looked at as a possible venue for tentative post-coronavirus shows.
Fighters spending time together in the run-up to cards and using all the measures necessary to stop the further spread of COVID-19 are firmly on the agenda.
Arum has now further revealed some of the steps to be taken. Fights could then be staged at some point over the summer.
Bob Arum exclusive
“We are working through the protocols with the Nevada Commission,” Arum exclusively told World Boxing News. “We will only open without spectators when we can guarantee everybody’s health and safety. That requires testing.
“We are going through all that now. The quarantine of fighters for a couple of weeks before the fight. How you test television crews, how you test officials.
“All of that does not have an easy solution.”
On the situation regarding the Association of Ringside Physicians, who are an integral part of the process, Arum added: “We have to think about if a fighter gets injured.
“Can you bring him to the hospital because hospitals are overloaded?
“It’s not as steep as it was a few weeks ago, but it’s still a problem.
“And what if a fighter gets cut? – We may have to have a plastic surgeon at the event ringside or in the dressing room instead of going to the hospital.
“There are many issues that must be resolved before you can responsibly open.”
UFC
Concluding with a dig at the recent UFC 249 event, Arum stated: “We are not the UFC, who are acting irresponsibly.
“They are letting the show go on. They are basically screwing all the protocols. We are not doing that to get boxing back up and running.”
Lesser-name boxers on the TR roster will almost certainly get priority in the first instance.
Names like Tyson Fury and Vasyl Lomachenko will take time out until fans return for good.
It’s a delicate situation.
