By Charles Brun: Matchroom Boxing promoter Barry Hearn wants Deontay Wilder and Kubrat Pulev both to step aside so that heavyweight world champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury can fight each other in a contest that will make money.
WBC champion Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs) and Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) will have the chance to fight the Joshua vs. Fury winner, and make good money.
Barry doesn’t see Fury vs. Wilder III being able to take place under the terms of the previous contract. He feels that the fight won’t make money, as it’s not “big enough now.”
Barry doesn’t say why he feels Fury vs. Wilder 3 isn’t big enough, but it’s probably because the fans would see it as a slam dunk win for Tyson. It’s unknown whether crowds will be allowed to attend fights in the U.S in 2020. And even if they are, will boxing fans want to pay to see the third Fury vs. Wilder fight?
Fury-Wilder can’t go on agreed-upon terms
“Do you want to do Tyson Fury against Deontay Wilder by the terms that have already been agreed and signed on the previous contract?” said Barry Hearn to IFL TV. “The answer, No way. You can’t afford it. The fights not big enough. #1, too much money. #2, where’s the income? #3, can Arum, the various camps, the promoters, can they afford to do it? Do they have the resources to do it? The answer, no way. It’s a bust.
“That fight is excellent; it’s contracted, but realistically does everyone get paid? Then you come across Pulev against AJ. Without a live gate, it’s going to be a very low earning fight for the fighters. The promoters, forget them because there’s one thing about Matchroom, which is unlike all these other operators is we have reserves, we have resources.
“We can survive ten years of lockdown. No one else can survive for ten weeks. But they’re not in the position to invest or speculate because they don’t have the backup money. We do, but that doesn’t mean we waste it,” said Hearn.
Barry brings up a good point is questioning whether Top Rank promoter Bob Arum can stage the Fury vs. Wilder 3 fight to where it will make money. Putting the fight in the U.S could be asking for trouble.
Arum mentioned as having a “promising” lead of an outside country that he could potentially stage the Fury-Wilder 3 fight. But even if that happens, will boxing fans purchase the fight on pay-per-view in the States? Probably not.
What Hearn isn’t saying is U.S boxing fans won’t be any more inclined to purchase Joshua vs. Fury either. Fury and Joshua aren’t pay-per-view fighters in the U.S, and fans won’t want to pay to see two foreign heavyweights.
Pulev and Wilder will get NOTHING to step aside
“So, Pulev against Joshua, do they accept, they’re on a percentage basis, and they’re going to earn a lot less money,” said Hearn. “Does that make that fight less attractive? Maybe it does, and perhaps it does to both of them. Perhaps the better deal is to say to Pulev and to say to Wilder, ‘Nevermind step aside money by the way. You’re getting nothing. Go and do the fight.
“Pay you for sitting on your backside?’ It isn’t going to happen. But to pay you to sit on your backside while you wait for a fight [against Joshua vs. Fury winner] with the guarantee of the next fight, it might all of a sudden look attractive.
“I’m only speculating, but when you put all these things in the mix, the one fight that you can sell for loads of money where everybody gets paid, and they get paid more than they were paid in their previous fight is Joshua and Fury.
“The common sense when they sit down, ‘Fury, I’m getting X to fight Wilder. Do I get paid?’ You know the markets changed. Joshua, ‘I’m getting X for fighting Pulev.’ That’s a bit skinny. Why not throw all the dice out in one go. What about rolling that dice.
“Tyson thinks he can beat Joshua. Joshua believes he can get by Fury. They both know they’re going to earn far more money on that fight than any other battle, and it’s relatively straightforward to put together.
“There’s no danger under our [Matchroom Boxing] umbrella of no one getting paid. That might make a bit of sense,” said Hearn.
This is the exciting part where Hearn talks about wanting Wilder and Pulev to step aside without getting paid to sit. Will Wilder and Pulev agree to step aside for nothing?
Hearn believes Wilder and Pulev may step aside
“I think it’s less than 50-50 or it might be 60-40,” said Hearn when asked what are the chances of Wilder and Pulev stepping aside to let Joshua face Fury.
“If you tell Pulev ‘in this new world, you’re only getting X, which is half of what you were getting. You’re going to be disappointed, and maybe you don’t want the fight as much, and maybe you’re quite happy to wait.’
“If you say to Wilder, ‘You’ve got an injury that’s quite serious. You’re not going to be around until October anyway; you can wait, or do you want to fight the winner and get a lot more money than what you were getting to fight Fury.‘ If I was gambling on it, I think it’s a 3-1 shot that Tyson Fury ends up fighting Joshua next.
“Common sense comes into it. I don’t know what the deal is for Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. What I do know is unless they get extensive foreign interest, they’ve got to replace the gate virtually. They’ve got to accept lower income from broadcasters who are struggling. That’s a lot of doubts in my mind.” said Hearn.
It’s not likely that Wilder and Pulev will step aside for nothing but perhaps if they’re told how little they’ll make if they don’t step aside, they agree to.
With Wilder’s biceps injury, it would be wise for him to step aside so that he can slowly rehab, and be ready to fight the Joshua vs. Fury winner. It would also give Wilder more time to work on the things that went wrong against Fury.
